Conceit and Preconception
by Kaoruhana
Summary: A modern take on an old classic: Pride and Prejudice. In which four couples learn about the ups and downs of falling in and out of love. Loosely based off Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice." Takes place in a college/ post-college setting.
1. Part I

**A/N: **Before I begin, some basic guidelines to my approach. In the original _Pride and Prejudice_, the book is divided into three parts- this story as a result will have three chapters. Each of the chapters roughly reflects the same divsions reflected in the book. In my story, Lizzie's character (Kagome) has only two siblings- one older brother who will slightly paralell Mr. Bennett, and Kikyo who is based off of Lydia. The story takes place in Japan and England with Sesshomaru being half-Japanese and half-English. Also the relationship between Wickham and Georgiana (Inuyasha and Rin respectively) is altered a little. Hopefully, I'll have all three chapters up within a month's timing- I have part I done and am working on part II. And if there are any questions/ suggestions/ comments/etc. please feel free to let me know! I'm quite sure I glossed over quite a bit.

**_I do not own Inuyasha. I am also not the owner of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. _**

Kagome stayed by the wall watching as others around her walked by with drinks in their hands laughing and having a good time at the Halloween Party. Kagome was having a good time too because she was not alone at the wall contrary to popular belief. Her friend Ayame, who'd kept her company for most of the night had just gone to get them both drinks so it had only been a short time since she'd been by her lonesome doing people watching- which in itself was quite fun especially at a drunken college party. As her eyes scanned the dance floor Kagome spotted a tall black-haired man dancing with a rather athletic girl with long hair. Kagome recognized them immediately as Sango, her best friend, and Miroku the boy that she swore was going to be Sango's boyfriend soon. The two had met during the first week of college at a meet and greet hosted by the residence hall and had hit it off immediately. Miroku was always hanging out with her since then. Every time Kagome saw Sango, she was with him- eating a meal together, studying together, etc. They were by far one of the cutest couples Kagome had ever seen and she just wished that one of them would ask out the other already. Miroku said something and Sango shyly averted her eyes before nodding. Whatever it was she was nodding at it seemed to make Miroku happy because he promptly hugged her. Kagome looked away at that and sighed wondering what was taking her friend so long. Really, it didn't take this long to get two cups of PJ.

When she turned her glance back towards Sango and Miroku she was surprised to see Sango gone. Probably met someone she knew Kagome mused watching Miroku walk towards her general direction. Wondering where he was going she followed his movements and saw him come to a stop in front of an imposing, eye-catching figure. Kagome had seen this man be on the receiving end of quite a bit of female attention all night not that she blamed any of them for it. He had silver hair and was adopting a cold-shoulder, debonair, I don't care about you look but he was tall and obviously well-built making him some quite nice eye candy. Kagome walked closer to say hi to Miroku- and perhaps get introduced to the Adonis- and couldn't help but overhear their conversation.

"You know- a smile isn't the end of the world Sesshomaru." The taller silver-haired man scoffed scanning the crowd some more.

"There's nothing to do here but dance and get drunk."

"It's a college party- that's kind of the point." Miroku stated rolling his eyes. "Listen, you should at least talk to someone; after all you've gotten the attention of quite a bit of the female population here." Sesshomaru rolled his eyes and slumped further against the wall he was currently leaning against.

"And why would I want that? I prefer women who can hold intelligent conversation with me." Miroku laughed and gave his friend a pat on the shoulder. Sesshomaru glared at the hand when it stayed as though silently wishing it would disappear.

"Listen, Sango's best friend is here- not a bad girl- why don't you try talking to her?" Kagome had approached them now and was curiously waiting to hear what the answer to Miroku's question would be having heard the tail end of the conversation. Miroku had his back to her so he didn't see her coming but the man did and he gave her a disgruntled glance before replying.

"I'm sure she's not worth my time. She's probably as vapid as the rest of the girls here."

Kagome was right next to him when he hurled the insult and she fumed. How dare he? He hadn't even met her and yet he had the galls to insult her to her face! She'd show him and knock him down a peg or two. Mr. High and Mighty needed a reality check and he was going to get one from her!

"Miroku!" She greeted catching the other man's attention. "How are you?"

"Great Kagome!" Miroku stated grabbing her in a quick hug. "And you?" He silently prayed that Kagome hadn't heard the most recent conversation he'd had with Sesshomaru. In the few weeks that he'd known her he'd quickly learned that she had a quick temper and that being on the wrong side of it would never be a good thing.

"Good, or at least as good as it can be with vapid girls everywhere." She replied turning her last statement at the man who was eyeing her closely. "Oh and who might you be Mr. Cold Shoulder?" The man bristled and Kagome inwardly smiled trying not to notice Miroku's nervous shuffling. It was obvious that he was trying to not escalate the tension and she figured she'd humor him for a bit. After all, she didn't want to get into a fight at a party anyway.

"Sesshomaru Wentworth- this is Kagome Higurashi- Sango's childhood and current best friend. Sesshomaru is my good friend Kagome." Kagome nodded her head doing her best to remain civil even if she wanted to do nothing but yell and throw things at him. So when he held out his hand she harshly snubbed it off turning to Miroku.

"Do you know where Sango is? I haven't seen her in a while." Nodding, Miroku indicated to the drinks table where she was talking to Ayame. Oh, was that what had kept Ayame preoccupied?

"Thank you then. I'll see you later." Turning she disappeared leaving the two men to stare after her. Sesshomaru, who was still miffed at her earlier greeting growled. How dare she snub him off like that! To show such blatant disrespect towards him! He wanted to demand an explanation out of her when laughter to his right caught his attention.

"What is so funny?" He asked clearly not seeing any amusement in the situation.

"She got you good!" His friend wheezed in between laughter. "Now don't look at me that way. You know she had every right to be angry about your comment earlier. What you said was kind of rude Sesshomaru."

"She is uncouth but you do pose a point."

"So you'll apologize then?" Miroku asked ever the optimistic one. Sesshomaru scoffed hearing this. Him apologize to her when she'd been that rude?

"We'll see." He answered noncommittally as his friend walked away to meet the woman he had spent most of the night with. He had some people watching to do and with a scowl printed on his face proceeded to do just that.

Two days later Kagome squealed as she walked down the path to meet Ayame for lunch. She ignored the looks she got from other students as they all walked around during class change- either to go eat lunch or to another class-and immediately sent a text back to her best friend. It was about time she mused. If either Sango or Miroku hadn't done something soon she was sure she would have. It was getting annoying seeing the two flirt with each other so much and not act. Quickly walking up the path to the dining hall she took the back entrance and saw Ayame waiting for her by the doors.

"A little late today aren't you?" Ayame admonished walking inside. Luckily, for them, the back entrance to the dining hall was never too crowded. Nonetheless, with the noon rush it was always hard to find a seat at the tables.

"I just got a really important text from Sango." Kagome defended handing her campus card to the lady at the register so she could pay for her meal.

"Oh and what was it about?" Ayame mimicked her friends' actions before following Kagome up the stairs to the second floor of the dining hall where the easy to get buffet style food was compared to the restaurants down below.

"Miroku finally asked her out. They're going to have dinner Friday followed by a movie. I swear, if those two acted any slower!" Ayame giggled but nodded her head agreeing with Kagome. She knew her younger sister Sango wasn't that assertive of an individual and it appeared that neither was Miroku. To finally see them together after weeks of blatant flirting put both girls at ease.

"Kagome, Ayame!" Upon hearing their names, both girls turned to the sound and saw Miroku waving them over. Next to him were two girls- one Kagome recognized as Kagura, the senior class president and Miroku's sister. The other was her twin- Yura. And right across from her was the one person Kagome wanted to avoid: Sesshomaru.

Kagura was known on campus, not only because of her position as president but also because of her dating history. She always dated rich guys. It wasn't anything bad personally just that she was a product of high society and more often than not tended to be in those crowds. As a result, she saw dating as a way to marriage to a comfortable rich man that would give her the same life she was used to living. Yura on the other hand was already engaged. The man in question had graduated last year and was currently getting a masters from the LSE. Yura unlike Kagura was an introvert and so most of the campus only knew her as "Kagura's twin." She was okay with the label given to her, never having liked the limelight too much. Sighing Kagome approached them with Ayame in tow.

"Hi Miroku!" Ayame greeted turning her attention to the other three at the table with a smile. "How is everyone?" Kagura smiled- four years of being popular on campus had honed her social skills- and greeted her.

"Good, and you?"

"Eh, it's Monday. Both Kagome and I could use a pick- me up right 'Gome?" Kagome nodded. She noticed that Sesshomaru was looking at her constantly and suddenly felt self-conscious. Was there something on her face?

"Mondays are tiring." Kagura amended before standing up. "Well Yura and I are about to leave for class so if you want the two of you can take our seats. That is, if you boys don't mind?"

Miroku shook his head. He didn't mind- the girls were after all the people who were undoubtedly going to be Sango's confidantes and the sooner he got on their good side the better. After all, he wasn't sure where he stood with Kagome currently considering the fiasco from Friday night. Turning to Sesshomaru, he gave him a nudge as Kagome took the seat closest to him. Perhaps it would encourage his friend to apologize as well. When Sesshomaru didn't say a word it was taken as acceptance and the two girls settled into the now vacant seats.

"I guess congratulations are in order." Kagome stated giving Miroku a knowing look once his sisters had left. "Honestly, if both you and Sango moved any slower I think Ayame and I would have done something to get you two together." Miroku sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Have we been that obvious?" He asked shooting his friend a glance. It hadn't occurred to him how obvious he may have been acting and that scared him a little. He hoped that he hadn't kept Sango waiting in anticipation for a long time.

"Relax." Kagome chided seeing the expression on his face. "Considering she's just as dense and slow as you are, you haven't kept her waiting long." As she said this, she failed to see Sesshomaru's eyes flicker towards her briefly.

"Thanks Kagome." With a nod in his direction, the two girls got up and left to get food. When they came back, Sesshomaru eyed Kagome's plates carefully: A salad, soup, and tempura. Where was the meat and rice for her dish? He didn't realize he had voiced this aloud until she turned large brown eyes to him.

"Excuse me?"

"Is that all you are eating?" He asked carefully. Ayame, who knew how Kagome felt when somebody commented on her food choices was about to step in when Kagome began speaking. Biting her lip, she hoped that Kagome wouldn't yell at the poor guy.

"Do you have a problem with what I'm eating?" Kagome asked carefully grinding her teeth. If there was one thing she hated it was people criticizing her food choices. Being a vegetarian on college campuses was sometimes hard and some days she had to settle with what she found. As a result, people who insulted her eating choices were severely criticized.

"Most people just usually add more sustenance to their food." Sesshomaru remarked. "Are you sure this is a fulfilling meal?" She opened her mouth to retort in anger some more when Miroku cut in.

"Sesshomaru's minor is in Nutrition studies Kagome. He's always like this. I mean look at my plates!" Kagome averted her gaze from Sesshomaru's long enough to look at the remnants of what looked to be a full decent meal on Miroku's plate. Still, most of the ire hadn't left her. After all, Sesshomaru still hadn't apologized for insulting her at the party the other night.

"Still, I'm a vegetarian and sometimes I don't have that much of an option when it comes to eating here at the dining hall. It's not my fault they only have Meatless Monday."

That said Kagome began to dig into her meal with flourish leaving the rest of them silent. Conversation however picked up again when Ayame began engaging everyone in discussions about what was happening with their classes and so on. As they were leaving, Sesshomaru took Kagome aside. Still fuming about his insult and the criticism she had received for her food choices she glared hard at him and promptly told him that he better get going with what he had to say. She had a class after all.

"I apologize for my earlier indiscretion. I did not realize you were a vegetarian." He cleared his throat and then continued awkwardly. "I also apologize for Friday. I was dragged to the party against my will and had a test today that I wanted to study for."

"It's all right. Some people just don't know when to keep their opinions to themselves." Kagome answered feeling that he was insincere in his apology. She knew that it was rude of her but honestly- the guy had waited three days to apologize to her! You think he would have done it sooner!

"Now if you excuse me I have to get to class!" That said she walked past him without another word. Miroku who saw her storming off approached him with Ayame in tow.

"What happened?" He asked slowly.

"That girl! If she thinks she'll ever disgrace me like that again after I've apologized to her!" Fuming Sesshomaru shook his friend off and headed towards his own class. He'd show her!

Kagome hated November. She hated it because it was a month that really had nothing to give her but work, work, and more work in the form of tests, papers, and piles upon piles of homework. So when Sango kept inviting her to double-dates with Miroku her already busy schedule was now overflowing. On top of it all, on all three of the double-dates she had been on Sesshomaru Taisho had been her partner. Kagome was understanding of the fact that Sango was a very reserved individual and wanted the training wheels per say on the relationship before she delved farther into it with Miroku, but after the third double date, she had cornered her friend and told her that she was done. Sango and Miroku were at this point comfortable enough to date openly and she was frankly put much too busy right now to help out her friend anyway. Plus, she had enough of being in Sesshomaru's presence in a date-like setting.

"I guess you're right." Sango stated as the two sat around in Kagome's on-campus apartment on a cold Wednesday. Kagome lived there with Ayame since Sango had opted to become a Resident Advisor and live by herself in one of the other dorms on campus. "But honestly Kagome, please dear- at this week's Friday dinner can you try not to throw your food at Sesshomaru?" Sango was referring to both the date from earlier that week on Monday and the dinner that the three girls regularly had together every week.

The last double date had been nothing short of a nightmare for Miroku and Sango and was the main reason the two of them had decided to never invite _these_ particular friends for a double date ever again. Both Sesshomaru and Kagome were hardly ever civil to each other. Sesshomaru was still smarting over Kagome's abject refusal of his apology while Kagome was stewing over his pretentious arrogant air. One was overly prideful of the respect he thought he should earn, the other so prejudiced regarding rich young men. They had been, at least until Monday, not physical with each other. Both would come to the dinner and throw veiled insults at the other throughout the course of their meal and Sango and Miroku would try their hardest to tune them out to hopefully continue with their date. The now quite smitten couple didn't trust any other friend as close as they did these two so it was no wonder that they were asked again and again for repeated dates. Unfortunately, Sesshomaru's rather scathing comment the other day had resulted in a physical altercation. Neither girl wanted to remember it but Kagome found herself doing so.

_ Kagome sat next to her best friend at the small round table inwardly counting the number of minutes she had left to bear in Sesshomaru's presence. Honestly, she had had enough of his insults and was not looking forward to spending the rest of the night in the library finishing the paper she had due tomorrow- the paper she was supposed to be working on currently. _

_ "Kagome, just because you have no one interested in you like Sango does, it does not give you the right to grit your teeth at her all night." Sesshomaru remarked during a rather tense silence. _

_ Kagome stared at him in shock when he spoke and both Sango and Miroku shared a worried look. They were used to the rather argumentative nature that the relationship between Sesshomaru and Kagome had taken but neither had ever expected it to go this far. And this was too far, even for Miroku, who had tried to make up for his friend's impolite nature towards Kagome on more than one occasion. _

_ "You know what Sesshomaru- I don't think I've met a bigger jerk than you ever before in my life." Kagome eyed the glass of frigid ice water in front of her for a moment and Sango panicked. She was too late in intervening however and before any of them could stop what was about to occur, Kagome had picked up the glass and dumped its contents on Sesshomaru's head. _

_ "How dare you!" He roared when she had finished. Kagome only smirked before turning to the other two occupants at the table and bidding them adieu ignoring the looks she was getting from the restaurant's other patrons. She hadn't made it that far however before her arm was grabbed and Sesshomaru towered over her with an intimidating scowl on his face. _

_ "You will apologize right now Kagome!" He growled uncaring of the attention they were receiving or the water dripping down his hair. Kagome glared back at him and wrenched her hand free of his hold. _

_ "And why should I Sesshomaru? Especially after you insulted me in that manner?" _

_ Sesshomaru growled and snatched her hand again but this time Kagome was ready. She reared her other hand back and slapped him. The slap was enough to shock him into silence and he watched her leave, cheek stinging from the impact, and pride crushed from the humiliating encounter. He turned to look back at Sango and Miroku. Stalking forward, he dropped money from his wallet on the table - enough to cover both his and Kagome's meal along with Sango and Miroku's- and left without another word. Sango and Miroku in the meanwhile were still trying to process what had happened and decided that they too should probably leave. Never again were Sesshomaru and Kagome allowed to be in each other's vicinity in a restaurant was the secret pact that both made that night. _

Kagome had to admit that she did feel a little guilty when she'd come home from the date but still her anger towards Sesshomaru was ever present. He had never really seemed to care about her and it irked Kagome more than it should have. She didn't care if he didn't want to date her but she figured she was at least worthy enough for his grudging respect or perhaps even acknowledgment. Miroku was perfect- he was friendly, nice, and charming. Whatever had enabled him to befriend Sesshomaru Kagome would never know. She could hardly believe the two were friends anyway.

"Kagome!" Sango stated snapping her out of her thoughts. "Someone's knocking on the door; do you want to see who it is?" Standing up, Kagome walked over and opened the door cursing herself for not looking through the peephole before she opened it.

Standing on the other side of the door was Hojo Akitoki. Hojo had been and continued to be a bothersome individual in Kagome's life. He didn't pester her for notes on a constant basis or insult her so blatantly like Sesshomaru but he did have a nasty habit of asking her out over and over again. At first, it had been kind of sweet when he'd kept trying. Soon however, it had turned to becoming a bother and now she couldn't help but want to just smack him on the head and yell something along the lines of 'Get out! Can't you see when you're not wanted?' He also had a rather nasty habit of boasting about his Aunt Cathérine in London and her rather affluent status. Needless to say, Kagome had not been impressed.

"Kagome!" Hojo exclaimed upon seeing her at the door. "Just the person I wanted to see. I heard that you're still hosting those Friday night dinners and I was going to make sure that it was okay for me to arrive a little late." Kagome only blanched before assuring Hojo that it was okay. Maybe they could have dinner just a little earlier so that when Hojo arrived he'd only be able to stay for dessert. She sincerely regretted having invited him to the dinners in the first place last year.

"It won't be a problem Hojo. Was there anything else you needed?" Hojo looked around the apartment corridor before talking again.

"Well, there's actually something I wanted to ask you. I heard that there is a rather interesting performance this Saturday- a local band is playing at one of the bars nearby, perhaps you would like to go see them perform with me?" Kagome who was already quite aggravated from a stressful day and recalling the memory of Monday's date let her temper fly.

"Look Hojo- get a clue! I don't give a shit about you and your dates. I have rejected you from the minute you asked me out and I will continue to do so! You and your aunt's money can hightail it away from my door. In fact, I'd rather prefer it if you would do that right now actually!"

Hojo scowled at Kagome! Maybe his Aunt Cathérine was right! Kagome was no match for some of the other Japanese girls he could have in his presence. Who was she to disdain his aunt in such a manner? The lady that Kagome had just insulted had practically raised him and was quite powerful in London society. With a sneer aimed Kagome's way he left but not before uttering a few parting words.

"You will regret ever saying that about my Aunt Kagome! There are much better women than you that I can find. Don't ever come sniveling to me when you need my help! I sure won't be willing to offer it you after such a cruel rejection."

"Well, I don't want it anyway!" Kagome yelled out to his retreating back before shutting the door. "Pompous, butt-kissing jerk!" She turned back to her guest annoyed to see Sango breaking out into laughter.

"Oh my god Kagome, I don't think I've ever seen his face turn so red before! He must have been quite embarrassed!" Sango wasn't one to be rude but Hojo had been a grating presence in their college lives for far too long. "Do you think he'll finally leave you alone?" Kagome collapsed into the couch next to her friend.

"One can only hope Sango dear, one can only hope!" Laughing the two girls spent the rest of their time together in relative peace until Ayame came back home and a romantic comedy plus dinner date was abruptly planned between them.

Two days later Kagome sat at a large round table in one of the local restaurants with a grimace. Sango had told her- in quite adamant wording- that both Miroku and her had mixed feelings about this outing. They had apparently decided to make it so that Sesshomaru and Kagome never met in a restaurant again but for the sake of the pre-planned Friday dinner had foregone this deal in hopes that their best friends would act like adults. Kagome huffed- she would act like one but it was Sesshomaru who continued to be a spoiled rich kid. The attitude didn't fly with Ayame and Sango however who reminded her that she was acting like a little kid herself. That was enough to make Kagome more compliant. She wore the black dress Sango had picked out for her and decided that she would ignore Sesshomaru as much as she could- there would probably be times that she would have to talk to him but she was going to avoid it at all costs.

"Are you ready Kagome?" Ayame yelled out as she put the finishing touches on her outfit. As much as neither girl was looking forward to it, Hojo had come last night, apologized to Kagome and offered to drive them to the restaurant. Considering that it was a normally a thirty minute walk to the place and that the area was expecting snow sometime early tomorrow the girls had accepted his invitation.

"Almost – hair up or down Ayame?" Kagome walked out of her room, hairbrush in hand to meet her roommate in the living room.

"Down." Ayame answered taking a quick cursory glance at her friend. "That dress does not need an updo girl!" Kagome merely rolled her eyes before finishing the final touches on her outfit just as Hojo knocked on the door. Grabbing their things the girls locked their door and were seated in Hojo's car moments later.

When they walked into the restaurant, Hojo made a grand show of escorting both Kagome and Ayame in. Both females didn't feel like putting up a fight against him with this action so they merely accepted it and walked with him to the large table that was waiting for them. When Sango had invited Miroku, he had explained that he regularly had a weekly dinner with Sesshomaru and his sisters on Friday as well. Sango had thus asked him if he wouldn't mind combining both their dinners and the large group dinner of eight people was born. Sango, Miroku, Kagura, Yura, and Sesshomaru were already seated. Kagome took a seat unfortunately next to Sesshomaru. The only other available seat was next to Sango or in the middle between those other empty seats. For some reason, putting Hojo next to Sesshomaru seemed like a bad idea and putting him next to Sango would not have soothed anyone's temper. Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at her comment but noticed that the two girls had placed their guest in the middle. He couldn't help but wonder about it.

"How are you Kagome?" Kagura asked politely shooting a quick furtive glance towards Hojo. She knew about Hojo Akitoki; the entire female population of their University knew about Hojo Akitoki. He was known to pine over Kagome Higurashi who spurred his advances with no result. He was also known to brag about his wealth. While Kagura respected wealth and understood it- she was born into that society- she didn't appreciate his flaunting of assets. She wasn't entirely happy to see him at the dinner but judging by the expressions on the faces of the girls who came with him, his presence had been unavoidable.

"Good I guess. I had two papers due this week and I have a test on Monday so tonight's my night off. And you- how's your week been?" Kagura smiled, she liked Kagome even if she was closer to Sesshomaru than she was. Plus, it seemed that she had another suitor who was more interested in her anyway so she was starting to care less about Sesshomaru as a potential dating partner.

"Busy in job hunting." Kagura answered. "I never thought the journalism industry would be this hard to tap into even if I'm asking for even the bare minimum of jobs. I feel like people just see my name and expect me to just never work. I didn't put myself through school for nothing and I wish people would see that." Kagome could understand what Kagura was talking about. She was working towards a degree program that allowed her to study abroad in the London School of Economics next Spring and it was competitive.

"Good luck." Kagura smiled back at her.

"Thanks, now why don't you introduce me to your guest here?" Kagome flushed at having forgotten to introduce Hojo. She normally wasn't so inattentive.

"This is Hojo Akitoki- a er friend of mine." Kagura nodded and everyone else at the table made introductions as well. Soon after orders were given and dinner passed by with relatively little problems.

Hojo being Hojo spoke and spoke and spoke all about the same thing- his Aunt Cathérine. Sesshomaru bristled at the name and save for Kagome no one really noticed it. She wondered why that was. Did he perhaps know the lady or was he friends with her? Kagome wouldn't put it past him- it seemed like something he would do. She was also unnerved at the glances he kept shooting her- what was his problem? Kagome was getting ansty and by the time dessert came she was more than ready to leave. She sighed when the dessert was finally set in front of her but stiffened again when Sesshomaru leaned close to her. What did he want now?

"You look beautiful tonight." Sesshomaru whispered as conversation around the table picked up. He moved back to his position and save for Sango no one really saw the interaction between him and Kagome. Kagome was shocked and unable to think of a reply for a while. Finally, as the waiter came by to pick up the empty plates and deliver the check she turned to Sesshomaru.

"Thank you Sesshomaru, you don't look too bad yourself." And that was the last nice conversation that occurred between Sesshomaru and Kagome for the rest of the semester's duration.

Before the girls knew it, November had turned into December and finals were just around the corner. Students occupied the libraries and coffee shops as they worked towards finishing off their semesters and taking a relaxing break back home over the Winter Break. Three girls sat around a table discussing what they were planning over the holidays and taking a much needed break form studying. It was a cold day outside so the coffee shop was busy but the girls had chosen a relatively secluded corner to conduct their studying and subsequent talk to avoid being disturbed.

"Miroku invited me to visit his parent's house in Hokkaido for New Year's." Sango announced blushing slightly. The other two girls immediately leaned closer to her wanting to know more about this information. Sango and Miroku had grown considerably closer in their relationship and were nearly inseparable these days. It was cute to see them so involved with each other and both Ayame and Kagome were beyond excited to see what would happen in the future. They had even already joked about wedding bells in the couple's future.

"Oh, this sounds good, dish girl dish!" Kagome stated. "But will your parents let you go?"

"Kagome, our parents want us home for Christmas, what we do with the rest of our break is up to us." Ayame assured her before turning back towards her sister with an expression that clearly meant she wanted to know more about this plan too.

"We were talking last night and he invited me over. Of course he also said I could take someone with me if I wanted and I was hoping that the two of you wouldn't mind coming with me?"

"I'd love to go support my little sister hon, but I already made plans to meet someone in Osaka. What about you Kagome?"

"I'll have to ask Mama but I think she'll be fine." Kagome came from a small family that consisted of her older brother, her mother, and her younger sister. She was sure that her mother wouldn't mind letting her go but she'd still try to be back in Tokyo later on New Year's Day to celebrate with her family.

"Oh thank you Kagome! I just don't want to be alone with his family- I know it's not something to be so worried about but I'm still scared since it's his parents. And well, you won't necessarily be by yourself- Sesshomaru's coming."

Kagome made a face and rolled her eyes- an action that wasn't missed by the other two girls. While both didn't necessarily think Sesshomaru was the nicest person around they could never understand why Kagome disliked his presence so much. They may have gotten off to a rocky start but Sesshomaru had apologized and Kagome had refused his apologies. They decided to attempt getting along for the sake of their friends but when placed together in a room alone for longer than ten seconds they would fight and hurl insults at one another. Neither Sango nor Ayame really understood how to get them to reconcile because every time they attempted to try reasoning with Kagome she stubbornly refused to listen to them and then told them that if Sesshomaru really wanted to apologize he should try to actually talk to her and not insult or glare at her. That or, she brought up the incident at the restaurant on the last double date outing that both she and Sesshomaru had been on.

"I don't want to go if he's going to be there." Kagome growled out looking darkly at Sango and trying not to feel betrayed.

"I know, but please Kagome! I'll try to make it so that you won't have to spend too much alone time with him!" Kagome sighed but then nodded- while she vehemently loathed Sesshomaru she cared about Sango and knew that the girl was dreading the meeting with her boyfriend's parents.

"I'll go, now what are you doing Ayame? It's obviously more important than Sango here." Ayame blushed and made a face at Kagome but answered nonetheless.

"I'm going on a trip with Hojo- we're just going as friends right now so don't you dare say a word Kagome! This plan was made a while back and I already have tickets and everything so I'm not going to cancel now all right?" Kagome never really liked Hojo- he had chased after her for the better part of her college career and while she was happy that he had finally moved on from her she wasn't too happy that Ayame was planning things that resembled dates with him. Ayame deserved much better than the sniveling man who didn't know when to quit and stop gushing about his aunt.

"Have fun and take lots of pictures." She finally stated. Ayame smiled, glad that her friend accepted Hojo at least a little. He wasn't her ideal man but she had to admit that she was a practical girl and so she'd settled when the first decent guy showed up in her life.

"I will Kagome, now I think we need to get back to studying." Groaning the girls pulled out their books again and began another round of studying.

Two weeks later Kagome found herself enjoying the massive library that the Kanazawa family had. Mr. and Mrs. Kanazawa- Miroku's parents- had assured her that she was welcome to use it to her hearts content and Kagome found herself doing just that. She'd picked _Pride and Prejudice_ for her reading today since it had been and still was one of her most favorite books to read. A shadow fell across and she looked up only to make a face. Sesshomaru was in the library disturbing her quiet solitude.

"What are you doing by yourself in the library?" He asked taking a seat across from her. "All of us were going to play some pool in the game room. You should join us."

"I _was_ reading before you interrupted me. Why don't you go play with them?" She asked with a nervous tick on her face. The past two days with Sesshomaru he had been nothing but nice and it was getting harder and harder for her to keep her dislike for him. Neither of them had apologized nor mentioned any of the rather calamitous encounters they had had over the course of the past semester.

"I'm not a big fan of pool. Besides, I wanted to make sure that you weren't bored all alone by yourself." Kagome scoffed but pointed to the rows of bookshelves behind her.

"Trust me I'm anything but bored. If you really want to keep me company grab a book and sit down to read."

Sesshomaru seemed to contemplate her words for a minute before he did just that. Kagome who hadn't expected him to listen to her was surprised but let it slide. After all, if he wasn't going to be a bother then she'd leave him be. Still, it was unnerving to be in such close proximity with him and not find herself in the middle of a verbal battle. She finally gave up on reading and stood up around twenty minutes later; there was something about his presence that distracted her from concentrating on her book.

"Leaving?" Sesshomaru asked causing her to stare in his direction.

"Yes, I need a drink and a snack. What book did you choose to read?" She asked curiosity getting the best of her. She didn't really know Sesshomaru that well but even she had to admit that she did find it nice that he could relax with a nice book.

"Ray Bradbury's _Fahrenheit 451. _Are you a fan of Austen?" He asked bookmarking the page he was on and standing as well.

"Sort of- I'm more partial to _Pride and Prejudice_ than I am to any others by her though. Are you leaving as well?"

"Yes, I promised Miroku that I'd talk about something with him. Shall we?" Nodding Kagome followed but kept her pace behind him and was glad when they parted ways. He had been nothing but civil to her and she wasn't sure how to take it considering the snide glares and hurled insults he had been shooting at her all semester. What had changed his opinion of her so easily?

Sesshomaru meanwhile sighed as he walked to meet Miroku in the game room. Kagome Higurashi was in a nutshell intriguing. His first impression of her hadn't been great but as he got to know over the course of the semester, mostly because of her interactions with Miroku, he'd come to learn more about and begin to see more about who she was. She was fairly pretty with a nice athletic build and her hazel eyes only added to her looks. She was also quite intelligent and though most of their interactions had been arguments, they were intelligent ones and he appreciated that about her. He liked women who could hold a conversation with him and as much as he tried to not admit it, he found that he liked Kagome. He'd found himself falling for her and was elated when he found out that she'd be joining Sango at Miroku's place giving him a chance to get to woo her though it wasn't working nearly as well as he hoped it was. Seeing Miroku, he made his way over to his friend.

"Sesshomaru!" Miroku greeted. "Did you end up finding Kagome?" Sango smiled hearing her boyfriend's question. She had seen Sesshomaru's growing interest in her friend and had to admit that she found it cute to see him going after Kagome. Now if only Kagome could actually stop disliking him long enough to fall for him! Or at least, if not fall for him, she'd like it if Kagome could try to befriend him.

"I did, we spent some time reading in the library. Didn't you need to ask me something Miroku?" Miroku nodded ushering his friend out of the room and towards the stairs. After a while, the two found themselves in Miroku's room. Miroku was pacing while Sesshomaru sat at Miroku's desk patiently waiting for his friend to speak. Finally, Sesshomaru told his friend he wasn't going to wait forever and Miroku paused in his pacing before turning to his friend and speaking.

"Kagura said something to me over break before Sango came by to visit. She asked me how serious I was with Sango and whether it was right to lead her on before I leave to study abroad next semester. What do you think Sesshomaru? Am I leading her on?" Sesshomaru idly played around with one of the pens on his friend's desk as he thought about the question presented to him.

"Miroku, you need to think. I've never seen you this serious over a girl before. I'm not saying that Sango isn't a great girl but I want you to think things through. Are you really in love with her? Are you really going to be faithful to her when you study abroad? Sango's a really sweet girl Miroku and I'd rather not see her hurt because of something you did."

"So you're saying I should dump her then?" Sesshomaru ran a frustrated hand through his hair as he tried to reason with his friend.

"Do what you think is right Miroku. I honestly don't think you should continue your relationship with her when you're going abroad and your previous track record highlights your unfaithfulness. Your parents like her and so do I but we all are waiting for you to show us that you're serious about her." Seeing his friend's distraught expression, he continued. "Look, it's not my decision to make but if you're really serious about this Miroku, prove it to me and her."

Miroku took Sesshomaru's words into consideration as he continued pacing around the room. Tonight was New Year's Eve and he wanted to make his decision tonight. Whatever decision he made, he wanted it to reflect the rest of the choices he was going to make the rest of the year. Sesshomaru stood and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder giving him a reassuring touch before he left the room. Still Miroku was at a loss of what to do. He didn't want to hurt Sango but a lot could change over the course of a study abroad. What if he fell for another girl in Paris? The thoughts continued to plague him and he sighed before finally making up his mind an hour later. He'd deal with the consequences of his decision later.

Kagome noticed the rather tense atmosphere between Miroku and Sango during the New Year's Eve celebration in the family room of the Kanazawa residence. She turned to Sesshomaru and noticed that he seemed quite unsure about what the problem between the couple was. Shrugging her shoulders Kagome watched the celebrations on T.V. and cheered with everyone when midnight struck. The Kanazawa family had a tradition of cutting a cake on New Year's and Kagome thought it was nice. The cake was a good way to eat out some of her presentation from the day. A few hours later all the residents had decided to call it a night and Kagome was upstairs in the room she was sharing with Sango for the duration of their stay. She had just gotten ready for bed and was about to sleep when the door opened and a sobbing Sango stumbled into the room. Kagome immediately rushed towards her friend wondering what was wrong.

"Sango?" She asked quietly. Her friend only sobbed harder and Kagome gently held her while kicking the door closed with her foot. Whatever it was that was bothering Sango it was obvious that it had something to do with Miroku and that it hurt her deeply.

"He broke up with me!" Sango finally managed to say in between tears. "He said that he wasn't sure if we could do a long distance relationship and asked for a break. I told him I didn't do breaks and then he told me that meant we were no longer together! Kagome, I don't know what to do!"

Kagome held her friend close as she thought about what could have spurred Miroku to doubt his relationship with Sango. Hadn't Sesshomaru mentioned something about talking with Miroku earlier today? And wasn't it right after that she noted the tense atmosphere between Miroku and Sango. She fumed silently thinking of all the insults she wanted to hurl at the man. What gave him the right to interfere in a relationship that he obviously didn't need to interfere in? But right now, she had to comfort her friend and so she pushed thoughts of Sesshomaru out of her head.

"Shh Sango, just cry it out. I'm here for you dear, I'm here for you."

The next morning Miroku didn't show up to say goodbye to Sango and Kagome as they left for the train station. Sesshomaru had offered to drive them to the station and upon finding himself on the end of Kagome's spiteful glare wondered what he had done that made her hate him so much. Nonetheless, Sango accepted his offer and he drove them to the train station. All of the family and Sesshomaru wondered why Miroku hadn't showed up but when Sango had told them that they had already said their goodbye's they let him be. Still, they all knew that something had happened with the couple.

"I hope you have a good New Year." Sesshomaru wished Sango as the two girls grabbed their bags before heading into the station. She nodded still emotionally drained to do anything more and turned to walk into the station. Turning to Kagome Sesshomaru mustered up a smile before wishing her goodbye. "I hope you have a good year too Kagome. Hopefully we'll stay in touch?"

Kagome who was still angry after her thoughts last night barely spared him another glance and shot down the hand he held out. If he thought she wanted to stay in touch with him after the crap he pulled yesterday he had another thing coming. She was only happy that he had graduated early in December and she wouldn't have to see him ever again if she could help it.

"I'd rather die than shake your hand Sesshomaru. I hope your year is hell after all the crap you just pulled." She didn't even wait to hear his response instead walking into the station and boarding the train that would take her to Tokyo. Sango was her first priority right now.

The start of the school year brought with it some nice surprises for Kagome. Ayame had gotten together with Hojo over break and the two were currently an item. Kagome didn't know how to feel about the relationship. While she wanted to be accepting of the relationship, she knew for a fact that Ayame didn't care that much for Hojo and it hurt her to see Ayame throw away all their ideals of finding the right man to settle for someone like Hojo. She felt betrayed by Ayame and wondered when Ayame had become who she was. She didn't have to dwell long on it however and in between trying to help Sango get out of her funk and avoiding Ayame she'd met Inuyasha Taisho. Inuyasha Taisho was a new transfer who Kagome had met in one of her classes. He had easily charmed her and she found herself hanging around him quite a bit. He also had shared with her some valuable information about Sesshomaru.

She'd been slightly suspicious about why Inuyasha had been so intent on learning about Sesshomaru but had found out why within a week of meeting Inuyasha. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru had grown up together- they were half-brothers and even though Inuyasha was illegitimate, Mr. Taisho had taken care of both boys as though they were brothers and equal. When the elder Taisho had died Sesshomaru had taken control of his father's will and had it rewritten so that Inuyasha didn't get a single cent even though it was written in his inheritance. He'd basically left an orphaned Inuyasha penniless and had even made it so that Rin- Sesshomaru's sister- and the only one who cared about him- could never contact him again by holing her up in England. For Kagome, this was the final nail on the coffin. She'd always wanted reasons to hate Sesshomaru and she had finally gotten the one that solidified all the hatred she had towards him. How could be so cruel as to cheat someone out of the money that was rightfully his for no reason whatsoever? And so therefore, she had finally decided that she was going to hate Sesshomaru Taisho for life.

Miroku was a taboo subject between her and Sango. As a result, Kagome had kept her suspicions about Sesshomaru's presence in the break-up a secret. She had also refrained from mentioning much about Inuyasha to her friend. All that Sango knew was that Inuyasha knew Sesshomaru and was good friends with Kagome. She had a feeling that something was off about Inuyasha but Kagome absolutely refused to hear any information about it and thus she had let it slide. Sango had finally been able to move on with her life after a month of post-break up sadness and while she still wasn't in dating mode she had been able to enjoy herself again and slowly let go of Miroku. It was now just after Spring Break and Sango was more than ready to get back to school. Kagome had disappeared over break to visit with her brother Souta in Kyoto with Inuyasha and Ayame had brought Hojo home every day resulting in a surprise engagement. Now she was in the coffee shop escaping both of her good friends and happy that she wasn't there when Kagome found out the news.

"What did you say?" Kagome asked unable to believe what Ayame was saying. Ayame was her friend and they lived together but Kagome had come back from Spring Break to see Ayame beginning to pack a little bit of her clothing away.

"I'm engaged. I'm marrying Hojo in July and we're moving to London. He got accepted into the master's program at Kings College so we've decided to move there. I've already started looking at jobs in London." Ayame noticed Kagome's silence and sighed as she caught the unhappy expression. She put the winter coats she was packing away and crossed the three steps to Kagome.

"Look Kagome, I know you don't like Hojo and I know that you don't see things the way I do but please all I'm asking for is your support. You've always wanted to be an idealist and marry for love and I want that but I can't just depend on it. Let's be real Kagome- I'm going to graduate with a degree in international development- a degree that won' t really get me anywhere here but will land me jobs in London. I have to make a living Kagome and if moving to London helps then I'll do it."

"So you're using Hojo to get a job?" Kagome asked incredulous.

She was beyond pissed at Ayame currently. Why would Ayame throw away a chance at an awesome independent lifestyle to be with someone who would constrain that independence? And why would she give up on love? Hadn't they decided long ago that they were going to live meaningful lives and marry for love not for convenience?

"I'm not using Hojo!" Ayame yelled angry and hurt by Kagome's words. "I'm doing what I know is best for me. Yes Hojo and I don't love each other but we can grow to love each other Kagome! And am I not allowed to find a job? So what if it's in London? I want to help people for a living Kagome- I want to work in International Development and I swear I will do so even if you won't be there to support me! I'm moving in with Hojo this weekend and if you don't want to support me then that's fine!"

Ayame stormed out of the apartment and Kagome sat down on the sofa of the shared on-campus apartment. Ayame was getting married and moving to London. And she, Kagome, was being left alone. She didn't know what to do at this point. On one part, she wanted to be there for Ayame but the other part wanted to slap some sense into her friend and convince her to leave Hojo. She shed silent tears as she looked around the apartment. Soon, it was going to be empty but as she looked around, she realized that just because Ayame was leaving the apartment it didn't mean Ayame had to leave her life. Mind made up Kagome decided to reconcile with her friend. While she wasn't happy with Ayame's decision, she'd do what she could to support her as a friend. For the moment, she knew that she and Ayame needed some time to cool off so she decided that she could at least talk to Sango.

"What is it Kagome?" Sango asked walking into her apartment twenty minutes later. She had heard Kagome's tears earlier on the phone and knew that her earlier avoidance tactic might have been a bad idea.

"I said some terrible things to Ayame. Do you think she'll ever forgive me?" Sango's eyes softened and she gently held her friend in her arms.

"I think she will, just give her some time to cool off. The two of you are quite infamous for your tempers after all." Kagome cracked a smile glad that her friend was able to diffuse some of the tension in the room. Still, she knew that she owed Ayame a well-deserved apology.

"I just don't want her hurt. And well, I guess it's just a lot of things getting to me right now. Remember how Inuyasha went to visit my family with me over break?" Sango nodded making a face that Kagome luckily didn't see. She didn't trust Inuyasha for some reason.

"Well, anyway, you all know how we thought he was finally going to ask me out or something? Well, guess what- he's with Kikyo now. I don't know what to do. Mom doesn't want to hurt Kikyo but she worries that her daughter is dating someone at least seven years older. And Souta hates him. I don't know what to do. Do I side with my sister and Inuyasha or do I tell Inuyasha to break things off with Kikyo."

Sango sighed; she knew all about Kagome's little sister Kikyo. When Kagome and Kikyo were little Kikyo was spoiled. Sango considered that normal simply because she knew that younger siblings- of which she was one- often got away with more things than their older counterparts. However, Kikyo had become more and more of a rebel over the past few years. Mrs. Higurashi tried to rein her in but she was so lost on what to do. She tried to give Kikyo the same amount of freedom she had given Kagome but it seemed Kikyo was always involved with the wrong crowd and Mrs. Higurashi had given up on exerting full control over her errant daughter. When Kagome and Souta had been in the house it had been easy but with Souta having just returned a few months back from his overseas studies it had become harder for her to control Kikyo and run a shrine by herself.

"Look Kagome, I think you should at least try to warn Kikyo and Inuyasha about what they are getting involved in. And you said your mother and Souta are watching the two of them right? So I wouldn't worry too much because they obviously are watching over them. Okay?" Kagome nodded and Sango smiled before pushing her friend out of her arms.

"I say tonight should be dedicated to chick flicks, ice cream, and cheesy pasta? I'll call Ayame over and it'll be a fun girl's night!" Kagome smiled and nodded feeling much better already.


	2. Part II

**A/N: **Before reading please please please understand that the particular scene with grammatical and spelling errors was intended to be that way! Do not review me about it because it was meant to be that way. Kudos for those who understand what I'm trying to do there!

"Kagome!" Sango called out as she saw her friend. Kagome wasn't a big fan of airports but she nonetheless found herself in one. She was attending Ayame's wedding which was going to be held on July 20th in the English countryside at Hojo's infamous Aunt Cathérine's residence. Being a good friend of the family, she was travelling with Sango's family and would arrive there with ten days to spare for the wedding. They were going to spend two days in London getting fitted for their bridesmaid dresses before leaving for Rouane Hall- the home of the infamous Aunt Cathérine.

"Hey Sango, Mr. and Mrs. Tanaka." The married couple greeted her warmly, she was considered to be their goddaughter and they were glad she could make it to Ayame's wedding. Sango, too eager to bother about anything else yanked Kagome towards the large window where their plane was stationed and would be ready for boarding soon.

"I can't wait Kagome! London and then the English countryside- do you realize how awesome this is going to be? Derbyshire is so pretty from what I've heard!" Kagome could only nod not too sure of what else to say in the face of her overexcited friend. Sango, seeing the lack of response from her friend, turned to see her and noticed the rather apprehensive manner in which Kagome was looking at the airplane. When Kagome was little, she had been on a plane and it had overshot the runway crashing into a nearby woodsy area. Luckily, only a few people were seriously injured but the incident had left her friend scarred.

"Hey cheer up will you Kagome? It's Ayame's wedding." Kagome turned her view away from the window to instead look out at the crowd of people waiting to board the plane. There were a mix of European and Japanese tourists and she wondered how many were going home to London and how many were visiting like her.

"I am happy, just promise to hold my hand when I get nervous."

"Promise." Sango stated watching one of the air hostesses approach the speaker. Moments later both girls found themselves joining the line that would let them into the plane since they were fortunate enough to be in one of the zones that was being seated earlier.

Kagome boarded the plane placing her carry on duffle in the overhead compartment as instructed before taking a seat- the one further away from the window. She still had yet to get rid of her fear of airplanes and had gladly given her window seat up to Sango; the less she could see outside, the better it would be for her. The two girls settled into their seats, Mr. and Mrs. Tanaka being behind them, and watched as the rest of the passengers filed on. When all the passengers were on the aircraft and seated, the air hostess demonstrated the safety procedures while the plane taxied on the runway. Finally, even they had to sit down and Kagome gripped the arm rest of her seat tightly as the plane took off towards London. Kagome-who had stayed up most of the night panicking about the trip soon fell asleep and was gladly spared from reliving her fear of plane rides. All she knew was that the next time she woke up, it was five hours into the flight and they were flying over Russia.

"Are you hungry Kagome? They came by with lunch earlier but you were asleep and the air hostess said she would bring you your lunch later if you still wanted it." Kagome nodded her head. Food sounded good right now, in fact she was sure that it was her hunger that had woken her up. Sango smiled, pressing the button to call an air hostess and explained the situation when one arrived. Within minutes a meal was set in front of Kagome, one which she ate most of. The meal remained on her tray for about an hour until another airhostess who was passing by noticed the meal and took it away to be cleared.

"Want to watch a movie?" Sango asked noting Kagome's boredom. Kagome shook her head pulling out her abused version of _Mansfield Park_ and _Pride and Prejudice._

"I think Mr. Darcy and Colonel Brandon are awaiting me Sango dear. You surely don't want me to keep them waiting do you?" Sango rolled her eyes at her friends antics and giggled. Kagome's fixation on two prominent male characters of Jane Austen was quite known to anyone Kagome interacted with. Kagome swore that there was something about Mr. Darcy that was just "sexy and charming."

"Now, now Sango. You know that both men are honorable and might I add charming gentleman, why would I ever want to leave them be?" Sango just shook her head and it was Kagome's turn to giggle as she began to read the novels.

The next time Kagome was interrupted she was near the end of _Pride and Prejudice_. She had finished the first two parts (or books) and was just about to begin the third book when she was informed that it was dinner time. She briefly looked at the onscreen map that was on the screen in front of her and noticed that they were now flying over western Russia and were going to go over Scandinavia soon. That meant that they had about three and a half hours left into the trip left as the monitor indicated. It was now nearing eight pm in Tokyo and Kagome was hungry and was glad that the cabin crew were serving meals. The sudden thought of it being eight p.m. made her think about what she would be doing in Tokyo right now if she was still at home- cleaning up the kitchen with her mother while Inuyasha and Souta cleaned up the shrine area and locked it up. Kikyo in the meantime would be finishing up the homework she was given over the break.

"Are you okay Kagome?" Sango asked carefully noticing Kagome's distant expression. Kagome smiled and nodded.

"I'm just thinking of what I'd be doing right now in Tokyo. I hope Kikyo's helping mama while I'm away."

"Knowing your mother- as much as she lets Kikyo get away with things- she's roped her into helping with the kitchen." Kagome laughed at the truth of the statement. While Kagome's mother was lenient on some things she was quite adamant about chores around the house. Every child had to have their laundry sorted and ready for laundry day, help out with chores such as vacuuming, cleaning up the shrine and kitchen, etc. It was one of the things that Kagome was grateful for because it was something that she took to college.

"You know next fall I'm going to hold you on this right?" Kagome asked with an eyebrow raised referencing the fact that she and Sango would be sharing the same apartment she'd shared with Ayame. Sango nodded her head rolling her eyes before diverting her attention to a member of the cabin crew who was passing out dinners.

"Would you like chicken or fish?" The air hostess asked. Both girls ordered chicken- they both felt it was the safer bet- and the air hostess nodded before handing them their dinners.

Three hours later Kagome stretched and stared at the line in front of the lavatory. Deciding that she'd rather wait she cracked her neck once before looking at Sango who was fast asleep. Having already slept a little at the beginning of the plane ride Kagome had been able to use the time most of the other passengers were sleeping to finish one book and begin the other. The airplane's announcement system came on and announced that they were beginning their descent into London. Hearing that Kagome turned to her friend and gently roused her. She knew that it took Sango a good ten to fifteen minutes to wake up from a good nap and by then the plane would be descending into London's Gatwick airport not still be flying towards it.

Sure enough, a scant fifteen minutes later Sango was awake and peering out the window at the dotted green patchwork fields below. They reminded her of a giant quilt. She pulled Kagome's sleeve and directed her friend's attention to the view. Kagome, though apprehensive had to admit that the view was interesting- the green fields and later the view of cars, people, and buildings. It was at this point that she turned away from the window and took deep breaths trying to calm herself as the plane began to land into Gatwick. Sango gently grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze reassuring her somewhat. Luckily for Kagome, the pilots of the plane were seasoned veterans and had made numerous trips to Gatwick in their career so the normally slightly bumpy landing was instead smooth.

"Are we at the gate yet?" An impatient Kagome as she began packing her books away in the purse she had placed by her feet.

"Almost," Sango answered craning her head to look out, "Here we go. We still have to wait a few minutes though for the plane to dock." Fortunately, for both girls and a tired Mr. and Mrs. Tanaka the plane deboarded quickly and they left walking towards immigration. After filing through customs with no trouble, they headed towards baggage claim and grabbed their bags when they arrived. Soon, they found themselves at the entrance of Gatwick looking for a familiar face.

"Mom, dad!" An excited voice yelled causing them to all look towards Ayame. She was happy and jumping up and down while waving her hand. Next to her was a rather handsome looking man. He had his black hair pulled into a ponytail that reached his shoulders and was quite built.

"Ayame!" Mrs. Tanaka exclaimed hugging her daughter while momentarily forgetting her tiredness.

"How was the flight?" Ayame asked pulling away from her mother and leading her towards two cabs that were waiting for them.

"Good." Her mother answered looking at the two cabs.

"I hope you don't mind but we have to take two cabs to the hotel. I figured Kouga could take Kagome and Sango in one while I took you in the other. Is that okay?" There were murmured agreements and soon the six found themselves travelling towards the hotel.

"So, Kagome and Sango right?" Kouga asked from his seat. The interior of the cab was designed in such a way that he was sitting across from them with Sango and Kagome's check in being his neighbors. "I'm Kouga- Lady Cathérine's nephew- well one of them." Seeing their winces at his aunt's name, he laughed.

"I'm guessing from your expressions that Hojo has told you about her?" Both girls nodded and he smirked wolfishly.

"Don't worry, she's not too much of a batty old lady. But then if there's any problems you can always hide behind me and Sesshomaru." Kagome who was paying only half an attention up till now perked to attention. She had yet to tell Sango about her suspicions regarding Miroku and glanced quickly at her friend to see what her friend was feeling. It seemed Sango wasn't too affected by the news.

"Sesshomaru?" She asked carefully wondering if it was the same one she knew. She supposed it was- that was a rare name and she'd never met anyone else with it before.

"Yes, Sesshomaru Wentworth. His mother was Aunt Cathérine's sister and my aunt. She married a wealthy Japanese man and had Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru took her last name because he and his father did not necessarily see eye to eye." Kagome scoffed at that. She knew what they didn't see eye to eye on- the treatment of Inuyasha. Whereas Inutaisho Takahashi had felt it was okay to accept Inuyasha as a son and own up to his mistake of infidelity, Sesshomaru saw it as a scorn to his family. And he never even took his father's name! Sango shot her a look of curiosity wondering about Kagome's reaction to Kouga's statement.

"Of course, my mom followed her sister's example." Kouga stated grinning and continuing as though Kagome hadn't suddenly created tension. "My dad's from Okinawa as well! And I'm in the RAF." Sango raised her eyebrows as she sought to remember what that meant- wasn't it something elite in the British military.

"I'm sorry but my memory seems to escape me- what does RAF stand for again?" Sango asked politely. Kouga shook his head telling her it was okay and silently happy that Sango had asked that question in Japanese. He was sure that the cabbie- an elder Englishman- might be offended by her words.

"Royal Air Force." He stated in accented English catching the attention of the cabbie. "That's how you pronounce it." He continued in English before switching back to Japanese.

"What position do you hold?" Kagome asked curious. She knew that it wasn't easy to retain a position in the RAF and wondered what level Kouga was in.

"I'm a Flight Lieutenant." Kouga stated proudly. "I just got back two weeks ago actually from my last deployment- I was at Mount Pleasant at the Falklands." Both girls were impressed- they knew that Kouga was quite brave to serve his country. That, and there was a reputation regarding the royal air force- it was the oldest and one of the largest in the world after the United States. Plus, the Falklands was an important area of combat and ongoing crisis so it was quite notable that Kouga served there. The cabbie seemed to think so as well because he spoke for a few minutes with Kouga- too fast for the girls to keep up with the conversation.

Soon thereafter, the car pulled up in front of the hotel they were staying in and the trio left the cab after paying the driver. Ayame and the elder Tanaka's were waiting for them by the entrance. When everyone was assembled, Ayame led the way in and proceeded to head to the reception desk where she promptly got two keys and handed them to the guests- one to her mother, the other to her sister. She instructed them about where the rooms were located and told them to get a nap and a shower in. She and Kouga would come by later with Hojo and Sesshomaru for dinner at seven.

"I claim that bed." Sango stated once they walked into the room. The room was a nice size with two double beds placed across from a nice double window and a bathroom on the left side. Since Sango had taken the bed on the left side, Kagome took the one closer to the wall and decided to let her friend take a shower first. Compared to Sango, Kagome was in less of a tired state and she could wait a little before she took her shower and slipped into the comfy bed she was sitting on. Sango got the cue and went into the shower first. Forty minutes later, both girls were settled into bed and fast asleep waiting for the phone call that would call them to wake them up for dinner.

Kagome groaned and buried her head into her covers trying to block out the annoying noise she kept hearing. Finally, she reached for it and picked it up off the receiver mumbling a tired and groggy hello. She was informed by the chirpy voice on the other end that Kouga and company were waiting for her downstairs. With a grumble and a curse towards the voice on the other end, she woke Sango up and the two got ready arriving downstairs around thirty minutes after the phone call. It seemed that Kouga knew that they were going to be slightly slower than normal because of the remaining jetlag.

Kouga was waiting for them by the reception desk with Hojo, Sesshomaru, and a teenage girl next to him. Whatever Kouga had just said made the girl laugh and caused Sesshomaru to roll his eyes. Of course he would, Kagome thought, he probably wouldn't know humor if it hit him in the face. They approached the four, Hojo being a little annoyed at something. Kagome just rolled her eyes at him- she was going to be civil because he was marrying Ayame- beyond that she could care less. Kouga noticed them approaching and reached out to them with an arm indicating that he wanted to bring them closer.

"Ah! Kagome, Sango- this is Sesshomaru, who I have been told you already know. And this lovely young lady here is Rin- his little sister and by far the most conniving girl on the planet!"

"Hey!" Rin defended punching her cousin on the shoulder. "Take that back Kouga before I tell them any of your stories." Kouga laughed and held up his hands in surrender apologizing while Sesshomaru merely pulled Rin closer and acted as a buffer. Kagome and Sango watched all this with confusion. They had never seen Sesshomaru so relaxed before. He was actually cracking a small smile and while he was acting as the mediator it was obvious that he didn't really care since he knew Kouga and Rin were playing in jest.

"It's nice to meet you Rin." Sango interrupted before turning her attention to her soon to be brother-in law who looked like he was feeling a bit miffed from having been left out of the conversation. "Where's Ayame, Hojo?" Hojo beamed at having finally been addressed.

"She said something about having to bring your parents down herself. I think she wanted to discuss something with your mother." Sango merely nodded watching Kagome interact with the trio of cousins. Kagome had introduced herself to Rin and the two of them were happily chatting about something while Kouga pitched in occasionally and Sesshomaru merely looked on. He was looking more at Kagome than anyone else though reminding Sango of the fact that she believed Sesshomaru to have a crush on her friend. Now if only Kagome would actually talk to him!

"Sango!" Kagome exclaimed. "Did you know Rin is a music major! She apparently got accepted to Imperial College's Music Program!" Sango, being friends with Kagome, knew all about English Universities. There was a time in Kagome's life when she wanted to do nothing more than study in London. Due to financial issues Kagome hadn't been able to go study abroad for all four years like she wanted but she was going to be able to go study one semester hopefully if she got accepted into the London School of Economics Exchange Program.

"Congratulations Rin." Sango stated. "I know that is a very prestigious program. What are you deciding to focus on?"

"I play the Pianoforte." Rin stated in a perfect British accent. The accent surprised both girls. While Sesshomaru did have a much better grasp on the language compared to his peers, he wasn't nearly as accented as she was. Kagome thought that was surprising and amazing.

"I know a little of piano." Kagome stated trying to keep the conversation going. She had dabbled in it, taking lessons from her again grandfather until he had died in her third year of high school. She didn't like it so much then but she appreciated all his attempts at trying to teach her now.

"I didn't know you played." Sesshomaru stated suddenly catching her attention. "You'll have to play with Rin sometime." Kagome was about to be object but before anything could leave her mouth she was interrupted by Ayame who had finally come down with Mr. and Mrs. Tanaka. Seeing the rest of the party arrive, Kouga led them outside to the waiting cars and then dinner.

Dinner was at a fusion restaurant that blended Italian, Indian, and Chinese dishes into interesting combinations. The group was led to a large table in a separate room and seated. Kagome was placed next to Sesshomaru when they got to the restaurant. She decided to not say anything and instead focused her attention on enjoying dinner. Kagome had to admit that she liked some parts of the Sesshomaru she saw at dinner. She was in the middle of taking a bite of her dessert when Sesshomaru finally addressed something to her.

"You are applying for the LSE program?" He asked raising and eyebrow. She must be quite studious and intelligent he mused knowing that only the best students were even allowed to think of applying to the program.

"Yes, do you know about it?"

"Well, I know that they mostly focus on International political economics for the program and that they incorporate tours of London and the English countryside for students involved in the program."

"Oh, I didn't know about the visits. Thank you for telling me." Kagome stated wanting to not really care. Sango made a face to her and Kagome rolled her eyes as she controlled her frustration. She wasn't sure what to make of Sesshomaru. One moment it seemed as if he was actually considering being nice to her and reverse his actions from the past year. Other times, she noticed his rather arrogant attitude still present. He made a face at the wine- a two hundred dollar bottle- and she was appalled when he seemed to think of sending it back. It showed his rather rich upper class upbringing and she thought it was rude of him to just assume the wine was bad when it was obvious that Sango and Ayame liked it after having already tasted it. A sudden movement caught her attention and she noticed Sango stand up and take her coat. Was it time to leave already? Taking her coat, she pulled it on and left the restaurant with the others.

"What did you think?" Sango asked when they got back to the room. "Was it just me or did Sesshomaru seem nicer?" Kagome grumbled under her breath as she climbed into her bed.

"I don't know Sango. He seemed so different, and I don't know who to believe after Inuyasha told me about Sesshomaru. I'm so confused." Sango climbed into her own room and thought about how to answer her friend's question.

"Kagome, I don't want to take sides but I just have to say isn't it weird that Inuyasha told you about Sesshomaru's actions so soon after you met him? Most people don't say things like that within a week of meeting someone. I'm not saying that he's evil or untrustworthy but maybe you should just be a little careful okay?"

"I guess Sango, I guess."

Six days into the trip, Kagome was tapping her foot impatiently as she stared at Lady Cathérine from across the room at Rouane Hall. Ever since they had arrived at the country estate of Hojo's aunt she had been nothing but demanding and annoying. And frankly put Kagome had no idea how Ayame could handle it. If Lady Cathérine said one more thing along the lines of 'Kagome dear, why don't you try to put your hair into a bun?' Kagome swore she was going to tell the old lady to buy a wig if she wanted to play with hair so much. Sango noticed her expression and nudged her friend in the side.

"Stop your glower before you get caught!" She hissed moving away to help direct the florists towards a corner where Mrs. Tanaka was taking care of the flower arrangements. Kagome watched her friend move away and then sighed before doing what she was told. Lady Cathérine called her over and Kagome grimaced quietly before walking towards her.

"Yes Lady Cathérine?" She asked when she arrived. The lady gave her a once-over before scoffing and then motioning to the dresses held up by a young maid. Kagome was a bridesmaid with Rin, Lady Cathérine's daughter Anna, and Sango, and the dress she had to wear was making her want to groan. It was a beautiful English rose/peach colored dress that flew down to her knees and was sleeveless with a cardigan to go over it. Kagome thought the dress was wonderful but secretly she wished it was in a different color. On both her and Sango's coloring the dress looked okay, but on Rin, the color washed out her lovely features.

"Try that on Kagome. The wedding is two days away and I have to make sure it fits you." Kagome rolled her eyes before she walked over to the nearest changing room behind Rin and Anna who both had their dresses with them as well. When they arrived, the girls quickly changed and walked out. It was a perfect fit for Rin, but on Anna the dress was a little tight and on Kagome the dress was a little loose. Considering that they were both approximately the same size, Kagome asked the young woman if she wanted to switch. Anna seemed to want to hesitate but upon Rin's urging did as Kagome asked. When Kagome walked back out a second time she had to suppress a squeal- she was right- the switching of the dresses was the perfect idea! With that cleared and out of the way, the trio made their way back to the main room.

"Well?" Lady Cathérine stated when they came back to the room.

"They fit perfectly Aunt Cathérine." Rin answered before Anna gave away the tiny secret they shared. Her aunt was a little bit of a control freak and as much as Rin loved her there was only so much she could take of it. She also knew Kagome and her aunt weren't on the best of terms so she attempted to steer the conversation into a better direction.

"Good. Well, I think everything is ready here then. Tomorrow we will take you on a tour of the Rouane Vineyards- they are, after all, the best in all of Derbyshire. And then the day after is the wedding so we must retire early. Anna, let's go rest dear." Anna looked on meekly at the two girls before following her mother. As soon as the Lady had left Kagome scoffed and rolled her eyes. She failed to see Kouga and Sesshomaru arrive behind her as she was caught up yelling at the lady in her head.

"And just what are you scoffing at Kagome?" Sesshomaru's voice caused Kagome to panic and swirl around. Luckily, she didn't lose her balance and fall flat on her face as she did so.

"Oh Sesshomaru," Rin began, "You know how much of a stiff Aunt Cathérine can be! Let her go! Plus, we have to take Kagome out on the trip of the vineyard tomorrow." Sesshomaru nodded and extended an arm out. Not sure what he was doing Kagome looked to Rin for a clue. Rin took her cousin's arm leaving Kagome alone.

"We are due to appear inside for dinner soon, it is better you have an escort."

"And what about Sango? Who will be her escort?" Sesshomaru pointed to the young man who was busy helping Sango. He was Kouga's younger brother and a lovely teenager of sixteen named Ginta. Aunt Cathérine hated the name and strongly disliked his rather Japanese upbringing. She wished he was more like Kouga, more true to his English roots. Shaking her head, Kagome took Sesshomaru's arm- it wasn't like she had much of a choice at the moment anyway, and allowed him to lead her to dinner.

The next morning all Kagome could really think was that the trip to the vineyard was a workout. She eyed her best friend who was climbing the trail with ease next to Koga and Sesshomaru. She and Rin were stuck at the back of the group and both of them looked at each other exasperatedly. They had no idea how the rest of them were so far ahead. As if sensing that he was being made fun of, Sesshomaru turned around and saw the distance between them. He stopped, waited for the two to catch up to him and pointed to a large building a few hundred yards away.

"That's the winery." He explained leading them forward to join Kouga and Sango. "And don't worry- it's much cooler in there." Kagome and Rin followed him and marveled at the inside- it was cooler and felt nicer since the sun wasn't beating on their back but it was also beautifully designed. It was set up so that when one entered they were first at the bar. Behind an opening on the right Kagome saw a glass door which showcased a large room with huge silver cylinders. Behind the bar on the left was a door leading to a staircase.

"The room over there is the distillery." Koga explained pointing it out. "I'd let you go in there but you have to wear a helmet and I'm not sure where to find them. You might want to go down here though." He pointed to the stairs Kagome was looking at previously. "It's a little cool down there but that's where the wine cellar is. Do you want to have a look?" Kagome nodded and Koga smiled before leading the way. He took a step into the staircase and turned a switch on immediately filling the stone passageway with light. The staircase wound down in a rather dizzying spiral and more than once Kagome wasn't happy she looked down. When they finally landed, they were in a large room that was filled with rows upon rows of barrels.

"The barrels are split." Sesshomaru stated when they arrived. He'd spoken in a low voice but the room's hollowness made his voice seem louder. "To the left are all of our white wines and to the right are our red wines. It really is less of an even split than I make it out to be- we produce more white than red."

"What kinds?" Kagome asked curious. She hated to admit it but Sesshomaru was kind of intelligent on the subject apparently.

"Our whites are generally made from either Pinot Meunier or Ortega. We use the Meunier for our Champagne and the Ortega for our White Muscat. We use the Pinot Noir for our red grapes." Kagome didn't know what to say. She lost him somewhere; she thought it was when he mentioned "Ortega". She knew that different grapes produced different wines but she had never heard of a white Muscat wine before. Koga noticed the confusion on her and at this point Sango's faces and explained things to the girls.

"As you probably already know, different grapes and different aging processes enhance the flavor of wines. For some things however, only certain grapes can be used and only certain fermentation processes in certain climate conditions can produce the best wine. In Derbyshire we can grow Ortega and pinot Meunier grapes quite easily. The Pinot Noir grow here too but they are more susceptible to the climate here than they are in Kent. Anyway, these grapes are used only for particular wines. For example, the Pinot Meunier is one of only three grapes allowed to go into champagne. Hence, we use it for that. The Ortega on the other hand produces a lovely fruity taste that pairs well with most English fowl and is quite suited to the English climate. The red wine grapes are harder to grow in England- it is less sunny here but we have managed to grow a little of Pinot Noir during the summer months and so we make a Pinot Noir with them."

Kagome and Sango were still confused but were glad that Koga explained things to them. Rin, who had noticed that a few wine bottles were set out upstairs went to uncork them and pour them into glasses for tasting while Koga answered any questions Sango had regarding the explanation he had given. Sesshomaru eyed Kagome before asking her if she had any questions.

"So, does this mean because you grow the Pinot Muniye you make champagne?" Kagome asked grimacing at her pronunciation of the name.

"No, we use the _Pinot Meunier_ grape because it grows in this climate. Red wines usually are made from grapes that require a high degree of sunlight which England does not have. Instead, the soil and climate of England is much more suited for blends of grapes that produce white wine. That is why we have the Ortega here as well but why we grow so few of the Pinot Noir."

"Oh!" And then Kagome understood. She'd often wondered why certain regions of the world produced more red or white wine compared to others. Of course, she never expected this impromptu wine trivia lesson to come from Sesshomaru.

"The wine is ready for tasting!" Rin yelled down the stairs causing the other four to climb back up towards where she was. Once there, they all assembled around the bar area that they had seen when they first walked in.

"I trust you know how to taste wine?" Sesshomaru asked casually as he handed Kagome her wine glass and noticed her correct grip on it.

"Of course!" She answered back as she swirled her wine around and took a tentative sip. The white wine was fruity and had distinct tones of peach. She liked it, especially since peach was her favorite fruit. Giggling she turned to Sango who was looking at the wine glass she'd just taken a sip from in slight horror.

"It tastes like peach and I like it!" She exclaimed looking at Kagome. "I hate peaches!" The other three in the room understanding what sparked Kagome's earlier amusement laughed along with her. Sesshomaru quieted first but it was Koga who spoke before him.

"As much as I would love to see your reactions to the different selections today, I'm afraid we're going to have to take you out to the grape orchards soon. There are a set of heavy rain showers headed this way and I don't think we want to be stuck in them."

"No we don't." Kagome amended as she finished her glass. Rin informed them that she would put the stemware away and that the men should go take the girls on a tour. Sesshomaru seemed to object and Koga knowing that neither sibling was willing to give up their position soon offered to stay back and help Rin. He assured Kagome and Sango that it would be okay to leave them behind; plus Sesshomaru knew more about the vineyard anyway he amended.

Kagome and Sango stepped out of the winery behind Sesshomaru and watched him walk a few steps towards the edge of the top of the rather large hill. They followed him and looked down to see what he did- rows upon rows of grape trellises spread out in a "Y" formation. When they reached him Sesshomaru pointed out the sides- the left edge was the Pinot Meunier, the bottom and half the right edge were the Ortega, and the remaining bit of trellises were the Pinot Noir- since that edge received the maximum sunlight all day. The two girls followed him down the hill as he led them to the center portion of the formation where there was a small triangle clearing. There Kagome noticed a large wooden tub and stacks of baskets.

"Normally, we have farm hands picking the grapes to make the wine." Sesshomaru announced. "However, Aunt Cathérine didn't want them here when the wedding was taking place." Kagome wanted to roll her eyes at the statement but couldn't. The amount of caustic sarcasm that Sesshomaru had put in his last sentence already did the job for her. She watched him move and pluck a few grapes from every area and place them in a basket he had snagged before he made his way back over to them.

"Guess which grape is which."

Kagome eyed the basket and then glanced back up at his face. He had a genuine smile on his face and was looking amusedly at her and Sango. The look surprised Kagome who had never seen him so happy about something. He must really like the vineyard Kagome thought as she and Sango stared at the basket. She pointed to a white grape and asked him if it was the Ortega.

"Correct, now which of the other two is Pinot Noir?" At this both Kagome and Sango pursed their lips. Sango looked at Kagome and pointed to the grape that looked the blacker of the two. Both girls obviously knew that noir meant black and so it was silently conferred that this must be the Pinot Noir.

"The purple one is the Pinot Meunier and the darker nearly black grape is the Pinot Noir." Sango announced with a proud flourish. Seeing Sesshomaru's grin widen though both girls were suddenly apprehensive. Did they get the question wrong?

"A common mistake," Sesshomaru answered picking up the darker grape, "is to think that a darker a wine grape, the closer it is to becoming a Pinot Noir. However, in this case, the Pinot Noir is the lighter of the two. The Meunier is darker because it was cultivated at different locations compared to the Noir." Kagome huffed obviously a little upset that they had lost but not too angry. It was fun and she had to admit that maybe, just maybe, Sesshomaru wasn't so bad after all. A sudden shadow fell across her face and Kagome glanced up to see a steadily cloudier sky.

"We should head back soon before we get caught in the rainstorms." Sesshomaru stated placing the basket down and starting to head up the hill. Sango and Kagome looked at it with disdain, one more so than the other, and followed him. Good thing they did so for if they had waited just a few more minutes they wouldn't have made it to Rouane Hall before the rain began to pour.

The next day Kagome walked into the breakfast room with a slight grimace. She had to admit that since the holidays had started she never really had gone out and walked instead preferring to stay in her room and read or help her mother around the shrine. She ventured down the shrine stairs perhaps once a week to grab some groceries but usually it was with Souta so she'd never had to trudge up with piles of groceries. Plus she was used to the steps having grown up with them all her life. She wasn't however used to the stupid hill they had climbed yesterday- a hill she had nicknamed Mount Sore Legs- nor the slightly rocky terrain that accompanied it. As a result, her legs were killing her and she couldn't wait to eat breakfast so that after it she could take the Ibuprofen she had stashed away in her room.

"Good morning Kagome, I trust your trip yesterday was eventful?"

"It was Lady Cathérine." Kagome answered taking a seat. Rin saw her grimace and gave her a silent smile. She herself was feeling the effects of the climb yesterday on her feet.

"Lovely. Today, we have planned a rehearsal in the chapel. Why we need one is beyond me, but Hojo and the wedding planner insist so we must do as they bid. Make sure you are free in the afternoon dear, we cannot have one of the bridesmaids missing for the rehearsal now can we?"

"Of course not." Kagome answered resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the elder woman. "May I ask what time it would be? I plan on reading in the library in the morning and I will leave it when it is time for the rehearsal."

"Oh you needn't worry with that!" Lady Cathérine stated. "Sesshomaru here will come fetch you when it is time."

This time, Sesshomaru scoffed but quickly pretended to cough when his aunt turned her head in his direction. All the young people at the table, save Hojo had to stifle their smiles at this. Mr. and Mrs. Tanaka who had seen the exchange said nothing. While they were happy for their daughter, they had to admit that her in-laws, specifically a certain elderly lady, was vexing at times.

"If you say so Lady Cathérine." Kagome finally responded after a short silence. Hearing that, the lady nodded and the rest of breakfast passed in relative peace.

Later that evening, as Kagome was making a mental list of all the items she had to place out on her dresser to get ready for tomorrow, Sango walked in with Rin and Ayame in tow. Kagome eyed the four of them warily. She had to admit that she was still half hoping that Ayame was going to cancel the wedding but realized that might be a lost cause, especially after the rehearsal today. Ayame was adamant about the rehearsal being done exactly right, so much so that Kagome was tempted to call her friend a small bridezilla. Instead, she had granted her friend one excuse- after all poor Ayame was finally able to control at least one aspect of her wedding and take it away from Lady Cathérine's hands. Kagome watched the girls sit down on the bed and waited to see what they had to say. After the vineyard trip the day before and the amount of walking she had to do in her heels- why had Ayame made her practice walking in them again- she was more than ready to crash.

"We need to talk Kagome." Ayame stated suddenly causing Kagome to pause in her task.

"About what?" Kagome asked curiously turning around and giving her friend a questioning look. Ayame rolled her eyes as she spoke.

"That Inuyasha guy." Ayame continued failing to see Rin's tensing up at the name. None of the girls in the room noticed this expect for Kagome who brushed it off. She was probably remembering how close Inuyasha had been to her, the poor girl.

"Look Kagome, he may be sweet but something just tells me you might not want to deal with him." Kagome sighed and rolled her eyes. She honestly trusted her friends and loved their opinion but sometimes she wished they would just butt out of some things- this being one of them. Why was everyone suddenly so against Inuyasha? And if they were so against him, why were they talking now instead of over the course of the semester?

"Look Ayame, I will be careful about him but honestly can we talk about it later? I'm dead tired and you should be too. Let's all call it a night and meet each other tomorrow okay? After all, we all need to rest for the wedding tomorrow." Ayame was reluctant to let go of the issue but let her best friend loose. Giving Kagome a hug, she left the room with Rin and Sango in tow. It was her last night as a single woman after all and she was going to enjoy it by watching her favorite chick flick.

As a bridesmaid, Kagome was expected to do many things. One of them, not surprisingly, was to dance with a male counterpart. Sango-the maid of honor- was dancing with Kouga- the best man, and Rin was twirling around the dance floor with Ginta. That left Kagome, Sesshomaru, and Anna. Anna had chosen to sit down earlier claiming fatigue- a lie- and Kagome wanting to escape being in such close proximity to Sesshomaru, left the room to head out to the tiny garden nearby. She heard a sound from behind her and groaned when she saw that Sesshomaru had followed her outside. What did he want now?

"Is there something you need Sesshomaru?" Kagome asked politely. Sesshomaru seemed to hesitate for a moment before he crossed the length separating them in three quick strides and took her hands in his. Kagome wanted to pull away but there was something mesmerizing about his eyes and his grip was rather strong.

"Kagome," Sesshomaru began giving her hands a little squeeze, "would you care to dance with me tonight and perhaps spend the evening taking a stroll with me by the vineyard?" Kagome was baffled- she had no idea why he wanted to do that. As if she wanted to be alone with him in a desolate space at night.

"Why?" She asked unable to help herself. At this, Sesshomaru let go of her hands and began pacing back and forth. She watched him curiously as he settled on his thoughts.

"I love you Kagome. I love you despite all your faults. Yes, you come from a rather middle-class family and are out of bounds for me class-wise. Yes, you are wonderfully infuriating and yes, your family could use some lessons in courtesy, especially that sister of yours if what I heard from Ayame is true. But still I love you! I love you so much that my heart aches for you everyday and I can't help but suffer when we are far away. So I ask you, will you give me the pleasure of accepting my suit?"

Kagome gaped at him with her mouth open; it was all she could do to not look like a fool in front of him anymore than she already was. She eyed Sesshomaru and grimaced inwardly when she saw the anxiousness in his eyes. He was serious about this- about loving her- and she was going to have to turn him down. Kagome hated breaking hearts but as she thought about things again she realized that she didn't care about breaking Sesshomaru's. He was a rude, egotistical jerk who had tormented her friend and chased Inuyasha out of his inheritance. Taking a deep breath, she gave her short clear response.

"I can't accept your suit Sesshomaru."

To say the man was shocked was an understatement. As she regarded Sesshomaru's visage Kagome rolled her eyes. It was as though he'd never expected this. When had she ever even hinted at going out with him or even liking him in _any_ manner? Sesshomaru, having gotten over enough of the shock to speak, did so.

"May I ask," he began slowly and with a voice that was slightly hollow, "why you choose to reject me?"

"Well, let's see, for one you are an egotistical jerk who cares more about your wealth and status than interaction with people around you- I mean really- all you could say was that I was vapid the first time you saw me. You hadn't even talked to me then! And my family; what kind of person would think that I wanted to be with him after he insulted my family in so open a manner? You have never met my sister and if you ever dare approach her, I will physically remove you! Then there's Sango- your stupid advice is what caused Miroku to break up with her and break her heart! So really Sesshomaru, what makes you think I would consider anyone who did things such as this?" Sesshomaru blinked before he ground his teeth and bit his next few words out.

"Anything else you wish to add to my list of faults?"

"Yes- Inuyasha. Oh, don't act so surprised. I mean why should you when you are the reason he was chased out of his inheritance? I can't believe you would go so far Sesshomaru! I really can't." Sesshomaru's anger was growing stronger by the second and he clenched his fists in an effort to redirect some of his anger. Finally, he looked back up at Kagome and spoke slowly.

"If those are all the grievances that you hold against me then I have to inform you that I will have to tell you they are unjustly placed. I know you will not listen to me today and so all I can say now is good night Kagome. I will not hold you here any longer when it is obvious that my sentiments will only be thrown back in my face. If at any time you wish to ascertain any truths about these claims then you know where to contact Koga and Rin."

His words said, Sesshomaru turned around and walked back inside. Left alone, Kagome thought about what had just happened with Sesshomaru. He loved her, and as much as she hated him, she had to admit that the thought of him falling for her flattered her a little. Yet, at the same time, she was shocked by the honesty in his explanation and the honest manner in which she had delivered her rejection. His last few words were actually what caught her attention the most. What truth was he talking about? She assumed it had to do with Inuyasha and not Miroku which led her to begin thinking about all the warnings that Sango and Ayame had given her. Was Inuyasha really truthful? Shaking her head, she decided to head inside and tell Sango she wanted to skip out on the rest of the reception until it was time for Ayame to say goodbye before she left on the honeymoon. She needed some time to think.

When she walked inside, it wasn't that hard to spot Sango. She was talking with Koga and Rin in hushed tones making Kagome wonder if she had missed something. Had Sesshomaru already been by to see them? Had he said anything about what had occurred in the garden? She hurriedly made her way over to them and waited to be noticed. It wasn't long before Rin noticed her.

"Kagome!" She yelled out. "Do you know what's wrong with my brother? He was there a few minutes ago but then he just left after telling Ayame and Hojo goodbye. He's so angry too!" Kagome didn't say anything but her tight lipped grimace must have indicated something to Koga and Sango who both looked at her skeptically.

"Are you all right Kagome?" Sango asked carefully. She knew that whatever had Sesshomaru storming out earlier had to do with Kagome. And she knew that whatever had happened had upset Kagome.

"Yeah, I just, I need to um go back to the room okay. I'm fine really I just think I'm tired from all the running around today. Sango wasn't buying it and Kagome knew that. Nonetheless, she felt like pushing Kagome to answer her wasn't going to get her any results so she let it slide.

"It's fine." Sango stated. "Do you want me to come get you when it's time for Ayame and Hojo to leave?"

"Yes please." Sango answered with a nod watching her friend walk away. As she did so Koga let loose a silent sigh.

"Why do I have the feeling that whatever happened, happened because the two of them fought about something?" He asked once he was sure he once again had Sango's attention. The two females next to him responded quickly; one with a muted gasp, the other with a sigh.

"I don't know Koga, I honestly don't." Sango answered him. "I thought something was going to change this time and that Kagome might actually be friends with him but she just seems to never try." Rin laid a gentle arm on her friend.

"It's not just her fault Sango, let's face it my brother could use a few clues her and there about how to act around people." Rin knew that while she idolized and admire her brother, he was only that perfect in her eyes and to others he was still an unsociable being. She wished that they saw what she and Koga got to see; a fun entertaining brother who cared for her and was really just trying to look out for her in the ways he knew best even if those ways could sometimes use some work. Sighing, the trio decided to make the best of their time at the reception and hope that things would get better later.

They did get better in a way though it would take both parties involved in the conflict months to admit it. Interestingly enough, the good times actually started with _the letter_. Kagome had packed and repacked her suitcase as she avoided Rin and Kouga like the plague. Sango had tried to weasel out what was wrong but considering it was less than twenty-four hours since the incident, Kagome was still trying to figure things out in her own way before she approached her friend. So it came as a total surprise to her when she opened the book she'd packed for the plan ride and out popped an envelope. The book was Harry Potter so she could see how someone might have been able to stash it inside but she was intensely surprised. Expect for the two minutes her bags had been with Koga, she had never let them out of her sight and so she assumed it was from him. When she picked up the letter though, she noticed there was a series of post-it notes on the back and she quickly read them.

_Kagome,_

_Now normally, I wouldn't help my cousin but I think this time it's a special case. This letter was found on Sesshomaru's dresser. I saw that he had addressed it to you & assumed that he was too shy to give the letter to you. I do not know why he wrote the letter nor what is in it. I know you want to throw this away but really, should you when you know that he obviously cared enough about you to write a letter? Come on Kagome, I know you'll make the right choice. Do not regret things in the future. _

_Koga_

Kagome looked at the letter and the post-it notes as she debated what to do. Koga was right, she realized after a few minutes of deliberation as she opened the letter. The letter was made up of two sheets of notebook paper and written hastily in pen. She knew it was hastily written as she noticed all the scratch-out marks dotting the mistakes that Sesshomaru has made in his writing. Considering his meticulousness in nearly all aspects of his life, she knew that whatever was in the letter was special and offered her a rare glimpse into a Sesshomaru she didn't know. Checking to make sure Sango was still asleep she began reading it.

_ D__ear Ms. H__i Kagome,_

_ I d__o Fear not, this isn't is not isn't another declaration of my love to you; it is instead an offering of explanations for __perhaps m__y what you had __unjustl__y accused me of yesterday._

_ Firstly, I would like to say that I am sorry for any heartbreak I caused to Sango- it was not my intention to do so and __if Miroku told me__ had I known what Miroku's plans were the day he spoke to me I would have __advise__d given him a different response. He approached me on New Year's Eve asking me what to do regarding Sango. I tod him that whatever actions he took he had to make sure that they were done in a manner that meant he wouldn't hurt Sango. Miroku __has nev__er isn't known to be a faithful man or someone who continuously dates a girl. I feared that during his study abroad in Paris, he would cheat on Sango. Perhaps I was mistaken in this assumption. If I was mistaken, it seems that both Sango and Miroku were indeed faithful to each other and I should have never planted the seed of doubt in his head. For this, I do apologize, for __beang__ being the cause of Sango's heartbreak I do not, though I do sympathize with her. It was Miroku's decision to break up with her, not mine._

_ I do apologize for mentioning those harsh words about your sister. While Ayame did tell me she was different from you, I should not have assumed that it made her automatically like the majority of the erstwhile money and power hungry side of the female population. I have never met your family and I insulted them. I know that this was a rather harsh criticism I laid at your feet but please believe me when I say that __I did not mean for it to come out that way that__ I did not mean it. The latter part of my adult years I spent my company with Lady Cathérine and as such I have found myself constantly bombarded with her lessons on etiquette and high class upbringing. I meant to tell you __that no matter the class__ that I was for once going contradictory to what my Aunt said and wanted in deciding to pursue you. In trying to say that however I butchered my words. I am sorry Kagome, keenly sorry for this and I hope that you will accept this apology on behalf of your family._

_ Now the third crime that I have committed in your opinion deals with Inuyasha. HE is a name not to be spoken of in the presence of Rin. __Before you say anything__, If you do not believe me please seek out Koga and Rin for confirmation- this is a story that remains hidden we hide for Rin's sake. Inuyasha is the son of my father's mistress whom my father took in when his mother died. For this, I lamented him for a little of my youth but soon saw in him someone who I could play with. Inuyasha and I were quite close growing up, there were even times when the two of us excluded Rin from our "boys-only" games and got in vast amounts of trouble together. However, things changed when Inuyasha was old enough to begin dating. He started had a reputation as a player and often times the two of us fought about it when I confronted him. One of __these"girls"__ them was an older woman who introduced him to drugs. When my father found out, he was furious and ordered Inuyasha to stop interacting with her. It was shortly after all, during my senior year of high school that my father passed away. My grandparents came down to spend some time with us but after my grandfather experienced a sudden bout of sickness they returned to England. At this time, I was busy trying to gain acceptance into universities and instead of being there for Rin during our time of grief I poured myself into my studies. One weekend, Miroku invited me to go with him to visit the Kyoto School of Architecture- my top choice. I went there, trusting Rin in the hands of Inuyasha who I assumed __was the best__ would only care for her best interests._

_ You can only imagine my surprise when less than twenty-four hours into my trip I got a call from the local police department back home asking me to pick up my sister who had been caught trying to sell my family's precious heirloom- the Testsaiga- for drug money. I immediately returned home and when all was said and done I learned that the older woman whom Inuyasha had __had__ had previous dealings with was the one supplying both Rin and Inuyasha with the drugs. Inuyasha was there for her in her time of need but he manipulated my sisters emotions in a way that to me was unforgivable. I was furious that he would ever try to sell off these precious heriloooms and so had the will rewritten so that he would only get the items if he received a college and married. I am not so heartless but I felt it was the best things to do since I still did believe that he will change. As for Rin, I did not want her to be somewhere she might be i__nflucned__ influenced once again by Inuyasha My maternal grandparents who are really the only family that Rin and I have left- agreed to take her in until she was ready to go to college. That is why Rin grew up in England for the latter part of her schooling and why she cringes whenever his name is mentioned. IT is a period of her life she wishes to foregt and in order to honor that all of us try to not make her remember it._

_ Please understand that the contents of this letter are yours to do with as you wish. I only ask that you please keep private those words in the latter part of the letter. Rin is too kind of an individual to be tainted by scandal. I do sincerely hope that this letter has offered you an insight into some of my actiosn Kagome. I know that while you may not forgive me and our paths will likely never cross again I still owe you a response. I also hope that you will remember that I will never and have never lied to you Kagome._

_Sincerely,_

_Sesshomaru Wentworth_

Kagome looked at the letter she had just finished and hastily glanced over it again and again. It felt like she had been doing it for hours because the next time she was aware of her surroundings was when Sango poked her in the shoulder. She looked at her friend as she tried to process what she had just read. It was true, she couldn't recall a time where he had lied to her, he had made hasty judgments yes but so had she right? And no one would make up such a sordid story about their sister, especially one whom it was obvious the person loved very much. She thought about the things she'd seen of Sesshomaru and the things she knew about him. It was true, his upbringing probably did turn him into the man she was today but he had apologized for it. And yes, Miroku was the one at fault really- how was Sesshomaru to know what his friend was thinking at the time?

"Kagome, earth to Kagome?!"

"I'm sorry Sango, were you saying something?"

"Are you okay? You were looking at that letter and zoning out for a while." Kagome blinked back tears as her friend's face reflected worry. What was she supposed to say, what was she to do? And so she finally said the only thing she could as a few tears leaked out.

"I think I just really messed shit up Sango."

When school started again, things had changed. For one, Kagome was more wary about Inuyasha and as a result had warned both her mother and sister about it. Her mother agreed to keep an eye out on Inuyasha but Kikyo had just pushed Kagome away and accused her of being jealous. As if that wasn't the only thing, Kagome found out that Miroku was back. She wasn't sure what to make of it but found that she didn't have the time to worry with the LSE application deadline. Her free time was spent studying to make sure she made the right grades in her economics classes and passing the interviews needed to get her acceptance into the program. So it came as a surprise when she got a text from a fellow LSE applicant about a fight going on between Miroku and Sango in the main quad. Quickly packing up her materials in the library she ran out, not caring about the rather nasty looks she was receiving for the loud noises, and arrived at the quad moments later. Sango had her back turned to Miroku and was crying while said man was taking slow but measured steps towards her.

"I'm so sorry Sango." He finally stated sinking to his knees. "I know I should not deserve it but I'm asking, begging you for a second chance. The entire time I was in Paris all I could think of was you. What would you do if I kissed you on the _Tour Eiffel_? What would you say when I took you out on a boat cruise on the Seine? I made a grave mistake and I am repenting for it. All I ask is that maybe you try to give me a second chance?" When she didn't turn around Kagome was about to intervene on her friend's behalf but Miroku spoke again.

"Tell me you don't care Sango and I will leave now, I will pack up my bags and leave immediately. You will never see me again and I will let you live your life in peace." At that, Sango finally rounded on him.

"Don't you dare Miroku Kanazawa! You left me alone to pick up the pieces when you left last time and I will be damned if you do it again!"

Miroku stood and pulled her close into an embrace. He held her, soothing her and murmuring things into her ear as her tears and sobs quieted. Most of the students left now that the problem was over and there was no more drama to be seen. Kagome however slowly approached the couple. Hearing her, Miroku turned and flushed sheepishly as he gently pulled away from Sango. Sango soon noticed Kagome too and both girls shared a knowing look.

"I have an exam in the afternoon and then I go home. He's more than welcome to join us for dinner and things if you are okay with it."

"Thanks Kagome."

"No problem, now I'm going to finish studying- you do your thing okay?" And with that, the trio parted ways.

After that incident, it wasn't uncommon to see Miroku and Sango together nearly all the time. In fact, it became so common that Kagome and Sango had not only cleared out a space on the bathroom counter for Miroku's things (an extra toothbrush/ shaving kit that he left over at their place) but had also recently rechristened their couch to make it "Miroku's couch." The incident on the quad had been talked about and thoroughly explained and both parties while still wary of what had happened last year were now after a month more in tune and trust with each other.

"Hey Kagome," Miroku asked looking up from his place on the couch as she walked into the apartment, "have you heard back from the program yet?" Kagome shook her head as she collapsed onto the nearby armchair.

"No, we'll know by Halloween but that's still a week away!"

"Relax, I'm sure it will be fine." Miroku answered back standing up. "Do you want anything to eat or drink?"

"No, but where's Sango?" Kagome asked beginning to toe her boots off.

"She went to do laundry, she was also going to wash that coat of yours after that incident at the party yesterday." Kagome grimaced remembering that. Miroku, Sango, and her had gone to a campus party and it wasn't the best idea. Some drunk idiot had come up to her and sloshed his drink all over her dress. To say she was pissed was an understatement. And that was the jacket whose hidden pocket had Sesshomaru's letter too. At that, Kagome bolted out of her chair and quickly shoved her feet back into the shoes. Before Miroku could even begin to ask about her abrupt actions, she was out the door, praying that Sango hadn't gotten to the letter yet!

"Kagome!" Sango exclaimed watching her friend come barreling into the room. "Are you okay?" The flustered girl didn't say anything instead she walked up to Sango and turned frightened eyes to her.

"Please Sango, please tell me you were obsessed with checking pockets again and emptied them before you put things in the washer! Please!" Sango eyed Kagome before she reached behind her and grabbed an envelope off a nearby washer.

"Are you talking about this letter?" She asked waving it in front of her friend's face. Kagome made a move to snatch it and Sango willingly gave it back.

"I didn't read it, I just saw that it was from Sesshomaru and assumed that it was important. As far as I know you would never keep something of his." Kagome paled and then felt guilty; it was obvious that Sango was hurt that she had chosen to hide this letter for nearly three months.

"I help you with laundry and we discuss this later in my room?" She offered as a way of apology. Sango let out a small smile.

"Yeah, we can do that."

A good twenty minutes later Miroku watched as his girlfriend and Kagome walked back into the apartment. He was ignored and vaguely heard Sango say something about girl talk before the door to Kagome's room was shut. Shrugging it off, he continued with his homework hoping that Sango might tell him about it later. Both girls once inside Kagome's room were found sitting on the bed- one was collapsed by the head of it while the other sat halfway down looking down at the collapsed female.

"So when did you get this letter?" Sango asked carefully. She had a suspicion that this was the same letter that had driven her friend to tears on the flight home from London but she was holding her guess for now. After all, if Kagome was keeping this letter something had changed drastically in her relationship with Sesshomaru.

"I got it in England." Kagome began slowly. "Sesshomaru wrote it to me but he obviously didn't want me to see it. Koga found it and he was the one who gave it to me- slipped it into my carry-on is more like it." Sango nodded encouraging her friend to continue.

"Well, let's start by saying, that three months ago on the night of Ayame's wedding Sesshomaru told me he loved me." Pieces began falling together in Sango's mind- the behavior of both Sesshomaru and Kagome at the reception, the rather unsociable nature of both parties for the following days. "Anyway, I told him I couldn't love him back and he asked me why. That's when I- I uh told him that I couldn't love an unsociable jerk who insulted my family to my face and that he'd basically been the reason you and Miroku broke up."

"That's not true though. Well at least the part about us breaking up because of him." Kagome nodded flushing as she recalled all her previous errors.

"I might have also accused him of stripping Inuyasha of his inheritance." Sango narrowed her eyes and adjusted her position on the bed giving Kagome a clear sign to continue. "Um so this letter, he uh gave it to me after that fight and it explains a lot. He apologized for insulting my family, he said he was sorry for planting the idea of the break-up in Miroku's head but that he wouldn't apologize for Miroku and um, he also told me the truth about Inuyasha."

"The truth about Inuyasha?" Sango asked slowly when a few moments passed in silence. Kagome nodded wondering whether or not it would be a breach of privacy to tell Sango. She figured the least she could do was tell her the half-truth- the part about Inuyasha's dealings with drugs and leave out the information regarding Rin."

"Inuyasha has been known to experiment with drugs- he uh played around with them twice and the second time might have nearly tried to sell an heirloom off to get it. So, Sesshomaru might have written him out of the will for a while."

"Oh!" Sango wondered if there was anything more she could say and decided there really wasn't. But she was curious, had Kagome told her mother and Kikyo about this news?

"No, I haven't." Kagome answered when she asked. "I really don't know what to do with the information so I figured I'd give him a chance to redeem himself. I did tell mother to be on the lookout though."

"That's probably a good idea. We don't want to suddenly scare everyone do we?" Kagome shook her head and the two friends smiled glad that there really weren't anymore secrets out in the open anymore.

A few days later as Kagome checked her e-mail she noticed that she received something from the head of the Economics Department. The subject read "London School of Economics Program- Spring 2013" and Kagome automatically knew what it was. The e-mail was her make it or break it moment; it told her whether or not her hard work was enough to get her into the spring program. As she moved to click on it to open it she suddenly chickened out and instead turned to Miroku on his customary couch. Sango was sitting next to him and both of them were engrossed in their homework but Kagome figured they could use a small distraction such as this.

"Um guys?" The couple looked up and Kagome continued. "Can you read the LSE e-mail to me?" Miroku was a tad confused but at his girlfriend's nudge realized what Kagome was talking about. Standing up, he crossed the room and took Kagome's laptop back to his den on the couch. Looking at Sango for confirmation, he opened the e-mail and both of them quickly scanned the contents. Sango was the first to react and she did so with a loud squeal.

"What is it, what is it?" Kagome asked coming over to take a look at the letter.

"You did it Kagome! You did it! You get to spend the spring semester in London on an all expense paid study-abroad trip to the London School of Economics."

More squeals suddenly sounded as the two girls began to jump up and down while hugging each other. Miroku watched them with amusement but did move a little- their screams were reaching decibels that were beginning to hurt his ears. He slowly walked towards the kitchen and the celebratory champagne that he had bought earlier that week. Both he and Sango agreed that no matter the outcome they would celebrate this little moment with Kagome either by getting drunk happily or sadly. He was secretly thrilled that in this case it was getting drunk happily. Grabbing the champagne and three glasses he walked back out to the living room and uncorked the bottle carefully.

"To Kagome's success!" Sango toasted holding her glass up. Laughing Kagome and Miroku toasted back and the trio clinked their glasses together before drinking. Finally, it seemed everything was starting to click into place for Kagome.

**A/N: **And part II done, if you all know what's coming up in Part III, then you will be happy that this will end soon!

Also I now know way more about English wine than I ever thougth I would. And once again- if you figured out the scene with erros kudos to you!


	3. Part III

**A/N: **So, here it is, Part III and the final piece of _Conceit and Preconception. _The story has come far and I'm super proud of it and this chapter! And now that that's out of the way I can finally focus on the other two pieces I promised to get done! So yay- another story done :D

Kagome smiled as she left her room and locked the door. She'd been in London for a little over three months now and she had to say she loved it! Every week it seemed she was getting to know more and more about the city and it's amazing history. She did occasionally meet Ayame during the course of her time in London but Ayame was busy with her job at Oxfam so she hung out more with her roommate- a girl from Singapore named Reena. Nowadays, it wasn't uncommon to find her with Reena at the Queen's Walk on Friday nights. There was something mesmerizing about seeing the Thames, the Houses of Parliament, and Tower Bridge all from one central location. Still holding a smile, she joined her roommate and the rest of the international students tour group downstairs for their four-day trip into Kent. They were to visit a few large castles and country estates nearby during the four-day easter weekend. Since most of the international students wouldn't have anywhere to go the program allowed them to take this tour as a fun trip if they opted to do so. Kagome was excited about this- she had been since she'd found out they were to visit Wentworth Estate in Kent. She knew that Sesshomaru's grandparents were quite rich but she never knew that they came from a peerage; his grandfather was the Earl of Kent.

When she had first learned of the tour, she had done some research and stumbled across the page about the Wentworth Estate on Wikipedia. The current owner, Fitzwilliam George Wentworth was the fourteenth Earl of Kent and just so happened to be Sesshomaru's grandfather. She'd learned that the Earl had three daughters and as a result his eldest grandchild- in this case Sesshomaru- was to inherit the estate. While she thought it was stupid that the males could only inherit, she did finally see a new side of the young heir. His mother was the eldest daughter and the darling child of Kent; she had been courted by the Prince's younger brother but had turned him down for Sesshomaru's father. She was also beautiful and a kind soul but she was like Kagura- having been raised up in wealth she only knew that lifestyle and society. She wasn't spoiled but she lived in high society and as a result she had passed that trait on down to her son. Kagome bit her lip as she came to stand next to her roommate. If only she'd realized things about Sesshomaru sooner- it was true he was prideful but maybe just maybe she should have seen it from his perspective- she didn't know anything about the society he came from so why did she expect him to know hers?

"Kagome?" Reena asked carefully noting her roommate's sullen expression. "Is there something wrong?"

"It's nothing." Kagome answered thinking back to the night three weeks ago when Reena had found her mooning over Sesshomaru's letter and demanded an explanation. "Okay so it is." She amended feeling guilty for lying. "Sesshomaru is the Sesshomaru Wentworth- we're visiting his Estate in Kent tomorrow."

"No!" Reena's shocked gasp turned a few heads in their direction but the two girls easily brushed off prying eyes. "When did you find this out?"

"Wednesday night, I was just looking up the places we'd visit when I stumbled across the Wikipedia page. As far as I know, _he _won't be there but I'm just not sure what to do. He probably hates me for so many things and I don't know what I would do if I were to run into him again."

"Don't worry." Reena assured her placing an arm around her roommate's shoulder. "You know that Mrs. Gardner and I will be there to take care of things if anything happens okay?" Kagome nodded feeling a little better knowing that the tour head- Mrs. Gardner who was the liaison for the international students- and Reena would help her if needed. Still, she couldn't help but worry. She had come to realize the error of her ways- even if some of that error was really a fault of both her and Sesshomaru- and she briefly wondered what she would do if she ever saw him again. Old wounds wouldn't be soothed instantly but maybe just maybe he would still be willing enough to listen to her and be her friend?

"Everyone!" The melodic voice of Mrs. Gardiner sounded. "I think all of us going on the trip are assembled here so if we're ready, we'll take the District Line to Waterloo and make our way to Kent via the Southeastern Train service. Remember we're to take the 5:30 train." Nodding, the group of seven, one of whom was Mr. Gardiner the designated driver for the tour, followed her out the door and into the London streets. Their manor trip was about to begin.

Three hours later Kagome unpacked the last of her essential toiletries and sank onto her bed. The trip was starting tonight- they had just arrived at a lovely inn and were spending the night there before going out on Good Friday to see the nearby manors. Of course, out of the first three manors they were visiting tomorrow, one had to be Sesshomaru's. She didn't know how to feel about it. Should she be excited to get it out of the way or should she mourn the fact that it was one of the first few and thus she was going to leave so soon? Grumbling would get her nowhere she realized flushing at Reena's exasperated glare.

"Kagome! I know you're worried but please, don't fret! If he really cared for you he wouldn't mind your visit. Please, for me, cheer up? I'd rather not have a gloomy roommate for the duration of the trip." Kagome bit her lip guiltily. She'd been so lost in her own thoughts she hadn't realized the adverse affect she was having on the others had she?

"I'm sorry. I promise to be better."

"Good! Now, I just so happen to have the new Emma Watson movie on my Netflix account. Want to watch it?" Giggling, Kagome nodded and the two girls spent time watching the movie before going to bed a few hours later, or in Kagome's case at least trying to go to bed. She lay awake for hours imagining horrific scenarios about the Wentworth Estate visit the next day. Finally, at nearly two-thirty in the morning, she succumbed to her tired eyes and fell asleep only to wake up five hours later to begin her day of touring.

At breakfast Reena noticed her tiredness. Kagome hadn't grabbed one but two cups of coffee and a rather small breakfast compared to her usual large breakfast routine indicating her lack of appetite and desire to sleep longer. Laughing Reena poked her in the side. At Kagome's glare she whispered in her ear about the ibuprofen stashed in her purse for any oncoming problems. Needless to say Kagome was grateful for it. The headache she would get from her lack of sleep would most likely appreciate that.

A few hours later Kagome looked on at the gorgeous moat of Leeds Castle from the shore across the water. She couldn't believe she had just been inside something so pretty. The castle was gorgeous with its yew tree maze and its rich historic significance. She wondered how many men from the Commonwealth it did host during World War II and why the late Lady had chosen to give it up to the Trust. Still, she was amazed when she left and couldn't help but sneak glances at the castle as they walked away to get lunch at a local eatery in Leeds. The giddiness she felt from the small trip had her in better spirits compared to the morning when she had been stressed. Even Mrs. Gardiner's rush at lunch to make sure that they made it to the Wentworth Estate on time hardly phased her. It wasn't until they were back in their rented and chaperoned van that Kagome suddenly tensed and the earlier unease came up to the forefront.

"Is something the matter Kagome?" Mrs. Gardiner asked having seen her unease all morning. She wasn't sure what to do and wondered if she had to contact anyone to help Kagome feel more at ease. It was after all her duty to make sure that all the students on the trip had a wonderful experience.

"She's just nervous." Reena answered leaning across Kagome in the backseat where the three were seated.

"Nervous but whatever for? I'm from the area myself and I know that the Wentworth family is lovely. Why I even watched Ms. Rin one summer for babysitting money." Kagome's eyebrow lifted and without thinking she asked her next question.

"You know Rin?" Mrs. Gardiner was shocked but answered her.

"Yes, I'm from Chillingham where the Estate is located and know the family quite well. Mrs. Taisho- the late daughter- used to send her children there every summer. Sesshomaru was a little stiff but he loved his sister and really they were quite wonderful children growing up." The sudden sadness in Kagome's face made Mrs. Gardiner reach for her charges hand.

"What's wrong dear?" Kagome didn't know what to say. Should she tell her guide the truth or just manage with a half-lie. Finally, she decided to let her know the truth. Mrs. Gardiner was close to the family after all and it would probably be better if she knew. Chancing a glance at the front to make sure that the other three students were occupied she spoke.

"Sesshomaru and I- we are friends. He wanted to pursue something more but I chose not to." A brief silence reigned before Mrs. Gardiner replied.

"Darling, he's a lovely young man. I wouldn't worry too much about it if I were you. He does not go quickly into relationships, if what I remember from his childhood friendships is true, so he still cares deeply for you I am sure. Don't fret, it will all be right."

Kagome and Reena were shocked into silence. How had their chaperone known that Kagome cared about him? Did she overhear them talk about it? Both girls shared a silent look of understanding. Either way Mrs. Gardiner stated it, she knew now, and it was time for the conversation to be put to rest. They were driving up towards the estate after all.

The estate was beautiful as they drove up with rows of tall majestic alders, birches, beeches, and yews marking the path. They led to a tiny woodland beyond their roadside borders and framed the path to a towering Georgian Estate. It was grand but not huge and its lawn well-maintained and cared for. Mr. Gardiner parked in a tiny parking lot to the right after a long five minute ride up the driveway which Kagome noticed had enough room for ten cars. She eyed the other side of the entrance and was pleased to see a garden of flowers. There were two kinds neatly split with a path in the middle- on one side Kagome saw bushes with flowers that reminded her of bellflowers, on the other side she recognized pale violet foxgloves. Seeing her companions depart, she did so as well and had to admit that the tiny entry garden was much better to take in when she was in the sunlight.

"Mrs. Gardiner!" An elderly woman exclaimed as she walked down the stairs of the Georgian Estate. "Why I never thought you would visit me again after your marriage!" It was well known that Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner were newlyweds having just been married that past December. Kagome thought it was rather sweet to see the two of them interact but was intrigued at the elderly woman. She wanted to assume that this was Lady Wentworth of Kent.

"Lady Wentworth!" Mrs. Gardiner exclaimed proving Kagome's earlier guess to be true. "Of course I would visit! This time I brought with me the international students from LSE as promised." The lady nodded taking Mrs. Gardiner's hands fondly and giving them a pat.

"Lovely. Now, I'm sure you are famished and I believe it is time for tea. I had extra prepared today and the Earl is waiting for us. Would all of you like to join us in the red drawing room?" Mrs. Gardiner smiled and assured Lady Wentworth that the invitation would be accepted.

As they walked inside the Lady pointed out a few things such as the Van Gogh paintings that were collected by her late father in-law and on display in the blue and white drawing rooms, the Gallery Room where all the portraits of the Wentworth Estate inhabitants were housed, and the stately library that housed collections of Jospeh Conrad, William Pett Ridge, and Dornford Yates. Of those, Kagome only knew one- Joseph Conrad- but Reena was impressed. Having gone to British Boarding Schools all her life, she was highly interested with the wealth of influential British authors in the collection. The lady led them to the room next to the library where Kagome found stacks of books arranged neatly on two bookcases that stood at opposing corners of the room. She walked closer to one and read the titles of a few books: _Wuthering Heights, Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, Great Expectations, _and _Madame Bovary_. The latter surprised her as it was in French. She didn't realize that her perusal caught the eye of the Earl who stood from his seat in a cozy armchair to join her.

"It seems young lady that you have taken a fancy to these books." Kagome looked up from the bookshelf and flushed when she realized she was talking with the Earl. How did one address someone like him again? Fumbling she came up with a response.

"I've always loved reading Lord Wentworth." He noticed that she wanted to say something more but was hesitating and decided that perhaps an anecdote would ease her spirits.

"My eldest grandson used to spend hours in here with me when he was younger. He would pull out books and we would read them together. His favorite was _Nicolas Nickelby_ which he took with him to London but the one we read most often _Cricket on the Hearth_ is still here." Kagome let loose a small grin thinking of how the Sesshomaru she knew would seem to enjoy those books. The Earl noticed this and wondered himself- did this young lady know his grandson? It might be possible but that was rare. He was spared from saying anything however, when two figures walked into the doorway that the group had just come in from.

"Kagome!" A teenage voice yelled out causing the young woman to turn and pale. There standing at the threshold of the red drawing room stood Sesshomaru and Rin. Hesitantly, Kagome gave Rin a smile and said teenager walked towards her with her brother following. The rest of the room had gone silent silently wondering how Kagome knew these new guests.

"Do you know this young lady Rin?" The Earl asked with narrowed eyes. He wondered if this was the girl that his grandson had talked about- the one whom he loved and who had taught him a thing or two. He glanced at Sesshomaru and smirked seeing the surprise and hidden longing on his face. So she was the one; it looked like this visit was going to be quite interesting.

"Yes, I met her at Hojo's wedding this summer. She also studied with Sesshomaru." The Earl and Lady nodded.

Mrs. Gardiner who was sitting with her husband, the Lady and three students in one of the two seating areas wondered what she could do to make the situation a little better. She didn't want to highlight Kagome's importance suddenly but she did wish the poor girl didn't have all eyes on the room looking at her. It was however the Lady who alleviated the situation by telling Rin to take a seat and serve tea. Nodding, the group left standing sat at the second seating area and gathered around for tea. The Earl took an armchair and Rin did as well. There was one chair which Reena, who shot a quick glance at Kagome, occupied leaving Sesshomaru and Kagome to share the couch.

"How are you?" Sesshomaru finally asked as Rin handed him his tea. He had to admit, meeting Kagome like this was unexpected but wonderful. He thought he would never get to see her again. She accepted her cup from Rin before answering.

"Good and you? Miroku mentioned something about you having a job now?" Sesshomaru nodded taking a sip once his grandfather had and watching Rin serve biscuits. She skipped his plate just as he wanted and moved on to Kagome's.

"I do. I'm a junior Associate at Barclays in London. And you- how are your studies progressing?" The questions were subtle and safe and Rin, who had heard about the sad break of the relationship from her brother, was eager to let them have their privacy. She looked earnestly at her grandfather who only laughed and began to engage her and Reena in a conversation effectively giving Sesshomaru and Kagome the privacy they needed.

"I admit," Sesshomaru began once half his cup had emptied, "that I never thought I would see you again."

"Me either- well actually I assumed I would see you at Miroku and Sango's wedding- those two are so in love it's kind of obvious he's just waiting for the right moment to pop the question. But how's London? Is the balmy weather treating you well?"

"It is. I did not know that Miroku and Sango were dating again." The statement was said softly but Kagome heard the hurt in his voice. She gently placed a hand on his arm not realizing how her action had garnered the looks of those present.

"He hasn't really told anyone who doesn't go to school. He and Sango had a huge fight and made up in September and they are taking the relationship slow. He hasn't even told his family yet about the two of them getting back together. I only know because well I live with them." At Sesshomaru's raised eyebrow, she had to stifle a giggle.

"Ever since they began dating again he spends so much time in the apartment. It's funny actually- we renamed our couch for him."

Sesshomaru's laughter was a balm to Kagome's nerves and for the first time since seeing him again she felt calm and happy. She loved to see that happiness on his face, even if it was short-lived and it made her insanely happy to have been the one to put it there. The sudden revelations caused her to flush and stare down into her tea cup. Love- she loved him and it took her this damn long to realize it. She'd been told that it came to people at the oddest times but really, to have realized so suddenly startled her. But maybe, she thought, looking back up at him, I've been in love with him all along and just not realized it.

"Are you all right?" He asked wondering if the blush on her face was his doing.

"Yes." She looked around the room and her eyes landed on the connecting archway that led this room into the library. Seeing her gaze, Sesshomaru spoke.

"Would you like to go there?" Kagome bit her lip as she peered at him. Were they allowed to?

"Can we? I am here on a school trip after all." She answered slowly. Mrs. Gardiner eyed her from across the room and gave Kagome a small smile. She wasn't sure how to interpret it- did the chaperone approve of her interactions?

"I don't see why we cannot- I am to inherit this estate after all." He silently cursed the words that came out of his mouth but Kagome only giggled at them making him wonder what had changed in the months since their encounter. She normally would have hurled an insult at him for statements like that.

"You have a point there." She looked at Mrs. Gardiner again and stood excusing herself. "I'll ask her if you can take me for a private tour."

Kagome walked across the room and came to gently stand by Mrs. Gardiner who immediately introduced her to Lady Wentworth. The Lady shook Kagome's hand and asked her if her grandson had sent her over here with a purpose in mind. Embarrassed at having been caught, Kagome could only stutter her response and was pleased when instead of probing her further both Mrs. Gardner and Lady Wentworth allowed the two to leave the drawing room. Once they left the room, Sesshomaru didn't take her immediately to the library instead taking her towards a garden. She let him lead her insanely curious as to where it was they were going.

"This Kagome-" Sesshomaru stated "is my grandmother's pride and joy- her rose garden." Kagome's eyes opened in amazement and she eagerly looked around in amazement. She recognized a few varieties of roses- the pale rose that England was famous for, the beautiful red roses that were famous as symbols of lovers, the pale white ones that were delicate. She looked at Sesshomaru and found herself flushing as she realized that she was the object of his gaze.

"Why did you bring me here?" She asked slowly trying to figure out where their relationship was now. Were they friends? Or did he want something more? Sesshomaru seemed to hesitate in his answer and she hated it. She knew that the last time they met, things had been terrible but she wished that he would at least tell her if he wanted to be friends or more. His arm, which had been entwined with hers, suddenly fell and she suppressed the sigh of disappointment she wanted to let out. She wasn't desperate enough to chase after a man who obviously didn't want to be with a girl who had spurned him so harshly.

"I thought you might enjoy the gardens on one of the few sunny days we'll have this year. What do you say?" Letting out a little laugh of amusement Kagome smiled. Since she'd been in England she was sure she could count on her hand the number of sunny days- that meant days with nary a shower in sight. She walked forwards into the garden and turned to look at him when he remained stationary.

"I thought you were giving me a tour?" This time, Sesshomaru with a smile of his own joined her and they walked about the garden together.

It turned out that Sesshomaru's prediction was wrong and jinxed their outdoor excursion. It was only fifteen minutes into their garden excursion that the sky darkened with clouds and five minutes later, the rain began to pour. Running inside, they both found themselves soaked enough that they needed a change of clothes. Without preamble, Sesshomaru lead her to the rooms he knew to be his and offered her a change of clothes. Blushing, Kagome did as was told simply because she couldn't afford to get sick with a cold on this trip- she had too much at stake. Sesshomaru took their clothes and flagged down a maid. She looked at him curiously since she noticed Kagome's clothes in the basket as well and Sesshomaru answered with an embarrassed air. When he returned inside the room, he had to restrain himself from showing her just how he felt.

Kagome looked divine as she fingered the hem of the shirt that Sesshomaru had let her borrow. He'd given her a pair of his basketball shorts as well, but the shirt was long enough, and the shorts loose enough even with the drawstrings pulled that she looked extremely tempting. Sesshomaru cleared his throat trying so hard not to imagine what she would look like sans the shorts. He had to get his wits together and perhaps encourage her to spend the night at the estate.

"The clothes will be dry in an hour; did you have anything important to do the rest of the day?"

"Well," Kagome began slowly, "We were going to visit at least one other estate today before we returned home. I suppose we'll be leaving soon for that." The open-ended answer left a lot of hope for Sesshomaru and without thinking about it, he blurted out his next question.

"Do you want to stay here and spend the night?" Seeing her expression, he hastily tried to redeem himself. "I just meant that uh, it's been a while since Rin and I have seen you so I thought that you might want to spend some more time with her." The _and me_ was left out of his statement but it was obvious what he meant and Kagome didn't know how to feel about it. On the one hand, she was really ecstatic about the invitation but on the other hand she was unsure about the status of her tour group. Was she allowed to leave them so suddenly?

"Um, it's not that I don't want to-" She began slowly playing with the hem of the shirt once again, "but I don't know if I'm allowed to leave the tour group. Plus, my luggage is at the inn anyway." Sesshomaru nodded and then walked towards her. He sank onto his bed and gently shook some still wet bangs out of his eyes as he tried to find a way out of this situation. In the meantime, Kagome thought about a lot of things. She had to admit that seeing Sesshomaru's expression when he noticed she had worn his clothes made her feel extremely confident. She wanted to spend time with him so bad and show him that she still cared, hoping that maybe, just maybe, he cared as well judging by the expression he had on his face earlier. So, decision made, she called his name.

When Sesshomaru turned towards Kagome, he was surprised to see that she was so close to him. When exactly had she moved and why? As her arms came up to thread around his shoulders he hoped but waited with bated breath to see what she would do. Her face was inches away from his and he saw her eyes dart to his lips and back before she finally gained the courage to bridge that gap and connect their lips. The connection sent a shock through Sesshomaru but he wasn't sure how to respond. Did this mean she liked him? A sharp tug on his hair was all the further encouragement he needed and moments later, he was kissing her back, this time taking the upper hand. He was finally getting to kiss the woman that he loved and he was damn happy about it so he was going to take it all in.

"What does this mean?" He asked pulling away when they both were out of breath and panting. He was hoping and praying that the kiss meant she was finally reciprocating his feelings. She blinked and he smiled seeing her dazed expression and happy to have been the one to put it there.

"Kagome," he began as he pulled her onto the bed to sit next to him, "I still love you. I know that I am possibly the last man on earth that you want to see but I don't care- I just, I want to know, will you give me a chance?" Kagome lifted a shaky hand to her teary eyes. Damn these stupid emotions and her stupid pride. He lifted a hand up to her face as well but she shook her head and he placed it back at his side silently dreading her answer.

"I love you." The words, once said, were sharp and poignant, cutting through the room. But they were a soothing balm to Sesshomaru's soul and as he looked into Kagome's teary face he knew what the answer to his next question was going to be.

"Spend the night here with me?"

"Yes."

The next morning, Kagome carefully tiptoed down the stairs of the Wentworth Estate and tried to find her way to the kitchen. It was of course difficult to find, but once she was on the ground floor, the smell of coffee lured her into the relatively correct direction. At the threshold, she waited and debated stepping inside. Lord and Lady Wentworth were already in the kitchen eating breakfast. The thought of them knowing what had happened between her and Sesshomaru last night mortified her. They were his grandparents for gods' sake! Ashamed, she was about to sneak back up the stairs when Lady Wentworth looked up and saw her. Flushing, Kagome walked into the kitchen slowly and tried to quell her blush as the two elderly people in the room gave her an appraising look.

"Good morning." Lady Wentworth greeted as she indicated a seat to her right. "Won't you join us for breakfast?" Kagome took the given seat, murmuring a hurried good morning in response, and numbly nodded as the maid asked her what she wanted for breakfast not really paying attention to anything. Why had she decided to come downstairs again?

"Kagome," Lady Wentworth stated appraising the young woman, "if you don't mind me asking- what exactly is the relationship between yourself and my grandson?"

Kagome flushed not sure what to say. Lady Wentworth however, smiled. Her grandson had told her and her husband about the vexing and charming woman he had fallen in love with. When she had realized that the young woman was Kagome she was thrilled and happy to see that her grandson was finally able to have a small measure of happiness in this affair. She didn't necessarily blame Kagome for the heartbreak that was caused nearly a year ago, her grandson after all was at fault as well, but she did want to make sure that Kagome noticed that there was a lot more to Sesshomaru. Kagome meanwhile, thought about what to answer. As she noticed the expression on the Lady's face however she relaxed. It was the same expression her mother had on her face when she had told her about Inuyasha. Feeling much more at ease now that she understood where the lady was coming from, she answered with a strong voice.

"He's the man I love." The words were hesitant coming from her mouth, especially since after last night, when both she and Sesshomaru had finally shared their feelings . It finally felt normal to say it and she wanted to say it over and over again so she did.

"I love Sesshomaru, and it would please me greatly if you allowed us to be in a relationship." The lady and lord smiled and motioned towards the door where an excited Rin and an ecstatic Sesshomaru were standing and waiting for entrance. Blushing now that she saw the unexpected visitors, she eeked out a greeting and motioned to the empty seats nearby. Judging by the knowing grin on Rin's face, she knew that the girl knew what had happened between Sesshomaru and her last night. A grimace passed Rin's face as she took a seat across from Kagome. She had just realized that Kagome had slept with her brother- and her happiness soon was replaced by apprehension. Thinking of her brother's sex life was not in her plans. Kagome grinned noticing Rin's grimace and Sesshomaru let out a booming laugh. It was a sound that the house hadn't heard in a while and it made his grandparents happy when it reverberated around the room.

"What are your plans for the day?" Lady Wentworth asked as she began to clear her and her husband's plates.

"I was thinking of giving Kagome a proper tour of the estate after I pick up her luggage." Sesshomaru answered. The blush that coated Kagome's cheeks was vivid but the lady brushed it off.

"That's right, we can't have the poor girl traipsing around in your clothes. However Jack, the Wilshire boy who tends the garden now, he's running over to town anyway so he can pick it up. I'll phone the inn and let Mrs. Gardiner know to have it ready." At the confused stares, she sighted and stood up, dropping the plates off in the kitchen sink before leaving the room presumably to do just what she'd earlier suggested. Mr. Wentworth nodded and excused himself leaving the three young ones to finish breakfast.

"You know Kagome, I might have a dress or two that fits you- I think we're relatively the same size. Would you like to wear that while we wait for your clothes to arrive?" Sesshomaru wanted to object, seeing her in his clothes instilled some sort of manly pride in him. But he also knew that it was only fair to let her wear actual clothes. And, as he remembered from last night, seeing her legs was definitely going to be worth it.

"And what are you smiling at over there mister?" Kagome asked noting his amused expression. Sesshomaru had the decency to flush- just a little- as he cleared his throat and answered negatively. Around Kagome, it would be easy to tease, but with Rin around- he wasn't sure just what was okay and what wasn't. The two girls laughed at his expense but breakfast resumed quietly until both the females disappeared to Rin's room to find clothes.

Two hours later found Kagome lounging in the library curled up with Sesshomaru's favorite book. He was sitting behind her on the couch they were sharing and had his head resting on her shoulder as the two read _Cricket on the Hearth. _They had just begun the second part of the book when Kagome felt Sesshomaru press his mouth to her neck. She had been mortified when she'd worn Rin's dress earlier and found evidence of the hickeys that her lover had left last night. Rin had offered her a cardigan to use as a cover up but Kagome still felt self-conscious. And she was not going to let Sesshomaru get away with giving her another one- this one in much plainer sight.

"Not so fast there." She stated maneuvering out of his hold. He let her go trying hard not to let out a disappointed sigh. Seeing his expression Kagome couldn't help but sigh. He looked so put out, almost like a little kid who'd had his lollipop or favorite toy car taken away. "Oh, you naughty man, just don't leave me any more hickey's okay?" Sesshomaru's eyes glinted mischievously and Kagome giggled before leaning in for a kiss. Seeing as how their newfound passion had yet to disappear they soon found themselves entangled in each other- Kagome laying down on the couch and Sesshomaru leaning over her. A sudden noise caused them to break apart. Flushing, Kagome hastily sat up and tried to bring herself together as she noticed Rin in the doorway.

"Really you two, be more careful would you? What if Grandmother and Grandfather had found you instead of me?" Sesshomaru had the decency to look guilty before he asked- in a much rougher voice than usual- what Rin had come for.

"Jack's come back with your luggage Kagome. It's up in a guest bedroom for now. Would you like to change?" At the last sentence, Rin looked pointedly at Kagome's neck. The cardigan she had let her friend borrow was draped over the back of the couch's armrest and Sesshomaru's gift to his lover was now once again clearly visible. Hastily, Kagome slipped the cardigan before leaving to follow Rin. Once the two left, Sesshomaru let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair before smiling. He may look goofy, but he was a man in love; it was excusable for now. Standing, he shelved the book away before leaving the room and seeing what his grandfather was up to.

Sesshomaru easily found his grandfather; he was with his wife and the two were strolling along the same garden path that Sesshomaru had taken Kagome on earlier. He wasn't sure if he should interrupt and hesitated about going inside. Lord Wentworth however, turned and noticed his grandson beckoning him over with a smile.

"And what brings you out now Sesshomaru?" His grandfather asked politely taking a seat on the nearby bench. Sesshomaru and Lady Wentworth followed his example as Sesshomaru answered the question.

"Kagome and Rin disappeared since it seems her clothes have arrived. I was merely wondering if there was anything I could do in the meantime." Lady Wentworth laughed and gave his shoulder an affectionate pat.

"So young and in love. It's such a lovely thing to see." Sesshomaru blushed but didn't do anything to deny it; after all what was there to deny? His grandfather however continued with the questioning.

"Tell me though, Kagome's tour group is leaving tomorrow night to go to the city. Are you going with her or are the two of you travelling by yourselves on Monday?"

"I'm not sure, I'll ask her later today and let you know." Sesshomaru knew he was going to try to convince her to go with him on Monday. He had a car that he had driven here and while Rin would be an addition to their trip, if he timed their departure just right he and Kagome could still enjoy a little bit of the Monday afternoon before parting ways. Yes, that sounded splendid. Now all he had to do was get Kagome to agree.

Kagome sighed as she left her classroom and entered the main quad of the campus. She was done, her finals had just finished and she was now able to do whatever she wanted for an entire week before she left to go back home. The thought made her happy, but also a little sad. She and Sesshomaru had talked about it, what it meant to go back, and they had both agreed to try to have their relationship continue. As it was, he had given his company notice a week ago that he was going to leave in a month and take over a branch of his father's old company- a pottery and design manufacturer in Japan- in July. As she walked towards the street and the coffee house where Sesshomaru was patiently waiting she turned on her phone and raised an eyebrow at the amount of missed calls and texts she had from Japan. Because it was so expensive to call from Japan Kagome usually called home. And any interaction she had with Sango was usually through e-mail. But here, she saw three missed calls from Souta and two from Sango. Sango had even left a voicemail and Kagome quickly opened her inbox to hear it fearing the worst. The people she knew in Japan wouldn't call her like this unless they had a really good reason. She quickly crossed the side of the street and listened to Sango's message.

"_Kagome! Where are you and why won't you pick up? If you are taking an exam then damn it call me right after. Kikyo's missing and Inuyasha can't be found anywhere! I hate to think the worst but I think that whatever he did to Rin is the same that he's planning on doing with Kikyo! Please, call your mother she's a mess! I'll help how I can but can you maybe book an earlier flight? Call back ASAP!" _

Kagome had just entered the café and Sesshomaru saw her. He noticed her distressed expression and was by her side in seconds taking her in his arms and asking her what was wrong. Kagome was incoherent, she couldn't and wouldn't respond and was devastated by the news. It hadn't even sunk in fully what had happened and she knew that Inuyasha was involved. Unable to do anything but feel helpless for a few moments she threw her arms around Sesshomaru and began to sob. The man in question quickly shot the barista a look. He and Kagome frequented the coffee shop quite often since their trip to Kent and the barista gave him a nod. Knowing that his orders would be taken care of properly Sesshomaru left the establishment half-dragging Kagome with him as he hailed the first taxi he saw on the side street. The cabbie looked on confused at the two before Sesshomaru glared and gave him an address.

"Holland Road Kensington." The cabbie balked at the address, only the richest men could even think of living in Kensington. Knowing that the man probably wanted to get to his house as fast as possible, the man quickly drove making the normally fifteen minute ride a ten minute one. When he got there, the cabbie was surprised at the change he received. He called after the man but when the man disappeared, he instead walked into the building and towards the concierge desk. The man at the desk looked up and the cabbie quickly handed him the extra change with instructions on who to give it to before he left.

When Sesshomaru arrived at the third floor, he quickly adjusted his hold on Kagome who had by now stopped crying but was still leaning on him for support. Unlocking his door, he toed it open with his foot before ushering the two of them in. In the entire month and a half that Kagome and him had been dating she had never been to his place. This was usually because he picked her up and took her out and with both of them being busy; Kagome preparing for finals and him finishing his last projects before the move; they hadn't had time to think about her spending the night. Ushering her to his sofa, he sank them down and gently eased her away from him so that he could look at her.

"Kagome, love, what happened?" Sesshomaru generally used her name only, unless he wanted to tease her at which point he called her a variety of names. _This_ endearment she knew was a special one and hearing it from his lips made her let out a small smile. It made her feel a little happy to see how tender and worried he was.

"I got a call from home." Sesshomaru nodded but failed to see what the phone call had to do with her sobbing. At his encouragement, Kagome decided to continue.

"Kikyo ran away and Inuyasha isn't there either. It's likely that the two of them ran away together and-" She choked back a sob as she looked at her lap and wrung her hands together. "Just knowing that she's out there and that he can do whatever he wants to her is so scary Sesshomaru! I don't know where she is!" Taking her hands in his Sesshomaru brought her closer. He could only imagine how Kagome felt. He remembered the day he had gotten the phone call from the police station. Back then, at least he knew where his sister was. Still, not knowing how she had ended up there or what her condition was had terrified him. He rubbed soothing circles onto his girlfriend's back as she clung onto him for support and sobbed once again. He let her cry for a few more minutes before he heard her sobbing subside a little into silent crying.

"We'll find her Kagome. Come on love." He gently coaxed her into looking up at him and placed a quick kiss on her lips before standing and going to his kitchen. He wanted to make Kagome tea but while it was being made he decided it wouldn't hurt to pour her a glass of alcohol. Placing a glass of scotch in front of her, he left to the kitchen again to begin making the tea. He didn't know if Kagome wanted the alcohol but he knew that in a situation like this he would have needed it. It wouldn't hurt to give it to her, he thought as he left back to the kitchen. As he busied himself with making tea, he heard Kagome walk in behind him. She set the barely touched glass of scotch next to him and wrapped her arms around his middle.

"Thank you." The words were whispered but to Sesshomaru they were significant. In all the time he had known Kagome, she had been a strong individual and been there to pick up the slack that others wouldn't. She was a hard worker who hated to ask for help. So the fact that here she was thanking him for the tiny solace of comfort he offered made him feel like a king.

"It is no matter. Do you know what you will do now?" He asked quietly as the tea kettle whistled. Kagome shivered against his back as she felt the vibrations made when he spoke. Getting closer to his body, she answered him.

"I need to call Sango and my mother and tell them that I got their message. After that, I guess I'll try to exchange flights so that I can leave earlier. I don't think Mrs. Gardner will mind if I tell her."

"Hn." Gently, Sesshomaru took her hands and moved her out of the way as he turned off the stove and brought the tea over to the sofa again. He lived in a tiny two bedroom apartment in Kensington. It was slightly expensive but he had inherited the property from his mother who had been given the property as a wedding gift. Now, he paid the utilities rent to his grandparents- a hefty £75 a week- but it felt like home and reminded him of his mother. She'd often stayed here when he was young and visited London.

"You know, this is a really pretty home for a bachelor." Kagome remarked snuggling into his side when he sat down. The apartment reflected his tastes somewhat from the glass coffee table to the sleek brown leather sofas. Yet, Sesshomaru wasn't one for yellow floral curtains or Monet paintings both of which she noticed.

"It used to be my mother's." Sesshomaru answered softly. "She gave Rin her apartment in Chelsea- that was a gift from my father to her when they married. This was a gift from my grandparents on their wedding day."

"Oh." Kagome didn't know what to say to that, so she merely focused on drinking her tea. Sesshomaru had made a Darjeeling blend today she realized as she sipped the warm aroma and felt calmer than before. She still worried for Kikyo but she felt more coherent now. The two sat there drinking tea together in silence until Kagome's phone rang again. Hurriedly untangling herself, Kagome flipped it open after haphazardly placing her now empty tea cup on the table.

"Hello?" She asked breathlessly recognizing her brother's number on the caller-id. Sesshomaru watched as her expression paled and the worry became apparent on her face.

"Is mama going to be fine?" After getting a positive affirmation she barked out some quick orders to her brother about what to do- take care of her mother and have the police search for Inuyasha. Taking that as his cue, Sesshomaru took their empty cups to the sink and came back this time with his laptop. It usually stayed at home when he was at work anyway.

Five minutes later Kagome hung up the phone and found Sesshomaru searching for tickets online. She paled as she realized what he was doing- booking a ticket for First class on the next British Airways flight leaving for Tokyo at eleven the next morning. She had enough time to go pack quickly, hoping she didn't forget anything before she left!

"What are you doing? I can't afford that!" She hissed at him as she tried in vain to stop him from booking the ticket.

"But I can." Sesshomaru answered her as he shooed her away. "Now, when we came home I dropped my wallet off on the kitchen counter, do you mind getting it for me?" Kagome didn't move but when Sesshomaru looked at her she reluctantly stood. His eyes were hard and there was an edge to his voice; he wasn't angry at her but at Inuyasha she realized. Knowing that no matter what she did he wouldn't budge she left and returned with his wallet moments later. Five minutes later her tickets were booked and she began to voice out her more pressing predicament.

"Sesshomaru- it's six in the evening now: how will I pack everything with me?" She asked panicking as she stood.

"Pack what you need, the rest we can store here." Kagome stared at him mouth agape at what she had just heard. Here, at his place? But how? Sesshomaru pointed to a room that she noticed around the corner. "That's an extra bedroom. You only brought clothes and souvenirs didn't you? We can house whatever you deem isn't strictly necessary and I'll bring it back with me when I come home in a few weeks." Kagome wasn't sure; was this okay? But as she thought about her options she realized this was one the best one for her. So she agreed.

Three hours later a tired Reena collapsed onto Sesshomaru's sofa with Kagome. When the couple had walked into the dorm room looking flustered Reena knew something had happened. She was quickly briefed on the situation. Considering that she had finished her finals as well, she agreed to help her roommate pack and clean what she could before they left. Now, everything was ready. Inside Kagome's large suitcase were clothes and a few souvenirs that Reena had suggested she take with her. It would help her family think of something happy for a moment she reasoned with Kagome. The rest of her clothes and items- books, including her worn down copy of _Pride and Prejudice_ were sitting in another suitcase and box in Sesshomaru's room. Sesshomaru had offered to feed them at his place and walked back out from the kitchen with three plates and glasses all neatly arranged. The pizza box, and garlic bread on the side, were on the coffee table. Reena vacated her seat on the couch to take a seat on the floor while Kagome helped him with the plates. Within moments, the ravenous three of them were eating dinner.

Reena had left a little before ten thirty and Sesshomaru- who rarely used his car- had offered to take her home in it considering the time. Knowing that her roommate was safe made Kagome happy as she cleaned the kitchen. Sesshomaru had told her she didn't have to but she had insisted on it and he had reluctantly agreed. Now as she stood at the kitchen sink washing his dishes she couldn't help but think this was right. She liked the simple domesticity of the job and wished nothing more than that Sesshomaru was here with her. It made her feel, as odd as it sounded, happy to cook and clean with him. Laughing to herself, Kagome rinsed the last dish off and placed it on the drying rack before drying her hands. She walked back into the living room and sank into the couch as she thought about what to do now. Packing had helped her mind ease somewhat but now that she was alone again she wondered what to do about Kikyo.

She had told Souta earlier that he needed to find Inuyasha and she could only hope that her hint at his narcotic past was being utilized. She hated to think of her sister, all alone and drugged up. How had she escaped her mother's watchful eye? Her eyes drooped slowly and she stifled a yawn as the energy used on the day's events slowly left her. She adjusted herself, after taking off her shoes as she thought about what to do when she landed. Talk to her mother first, then ask the police what they found, and hopefully by the end of it all she could find her sister. Another yawn escaped her as the door opened and Sesshomaru walked back in. Kagome blinked- had it been a half hour already? Sesshomaru gently walked towards her after he toed his shoes off in the entryway.

"Come, I'll give you something to wear for the night."

Kagome blinked and then sighed as she realized that all she'd left out were a pair of clothes for tomorrow. Nodding she allowed him to help her up and followed him to his room. It was nice, a bed was in the corner, tucked away underneath the window, and a closet took up a wall opposite it. Near the closet was a dresser and Sesshomaru walked towards it, opening a drawer and pulling out a t-shirt. Without a thought, Kagome began stripping in front of him. She was too tired to care and frankly, he had seen it all anyway. Once changed, she threw her clothes into the nearby clothes hamper and climbed into bed. Sesshomaru watched her do all this and let out a tiny smile. She looked so vulnerable, cuddled in his oversized shirt as she snuggled and tried to warm herself in the bed. Quickly shedding his own clothes, he climbed into bed after her and turned off the light. It felt nice to know she trusted him and he swore he would make sure that she was never this scared again. With a wistful smile, he gathered her close, letting his heat seep into her back and placed a loving kiss on her hair.

"Sleep Kagome, it will be all right. I promise." Her hand found his at her waist and she gave it a gentle squeeze. She knew that the answer he would give to her next question was only half true but she still had to ask and hope.

"Do you think they'll find her and bring her home?"

"I do. And if they don't I promise I will. Now rest love, you've got to catch that flight tomorrow." Kagome nodded, even as a tear rolled down her cheek. For a moment, she wanted to forget- forget that her sister was lost and just pretend that she was here with Sesshomaru because he'd invited her over for dinner. And so she did, as she finally fell asleep.

The next morning Kagome stood in front of the gate holding hands with Sesshomaru. She wasn't sure how Sesshomaru had convinced them- okay so he'd told a little white lie about her sister being in a terrible accident and him being her loving husband who wanted to make sure she made it onto the flight safely. The lie irked at her, but she was glad that he was here. She wanted to mooch the comfort he was radiating so that for once she didn't have to be the strong one in the family. When her grandfather had died in high school, Kagome's mother had fallen into deep grief and Souta was away at college. Being the only person who understood what was needed, she had stepped in and become the strong person of the house letting her mother cry on her shoulder when she needed to and so on. And just like that it stuck. Souta may have been back but Kagome had been the backbone for the family for five years now and she was going to need to be strong when she returned home. So for her to know that right now she could be weak for once and depend on someone meant a lot to her. He gave her hands a squeeze and she looked up at him with a smile. They had just called her zone meaning it was time for her to board. Turning she took his face in her hands and kissed him as his hands tightened around her waist in response.

"I love you. Thank you for everything." She whispered as they broke apart.

Sesshomaru held her hands in his and smiled tightly at her. He hated to see her so lost- he wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and protect her but he knew that he couldn't- at least not yet and not in a way that wouldn't scare her. So he let her go with one last kiss. She handed her ticket to the air hostess and smiled once more at him before she left. He gave her a smile back as she left before turning to leave himself. He had a ticket to book for the next flight to Osaka. Something told him that's where Inuyasha was.

The flight was long and stressful for Kagome. She forced herself to get her mind together and slowly piece herself together so that she wouldn't be a blubbering mess when she came home. No, her mother didn't need that- her mother just needed her- to see her and know that at least one daughter was safe and sound in her arms. She hardly ate the meals, only forcing herself to eat a few bites so that she wouldn't be weak from hunger when she landed. A kind older woman sat next to her and gently gave her hand a pat.

"What is wrong child? Are ye in need of help?" The woman asked in Japanese. Kagome looked at the old woman- she had gray hair tied into a bun and an eyepatch over her left eye. Noticing her glance the old lady smiled.

"Ah, that's what I get for telling my grandson about my eyesight. First thing he does is send me to London to get operated on and sticks me there for a year! Hmph! Doesn't he know by now that this Kanzawa Kaede- matron of the family- doesn't need coddling?" Kagome let loose a small smile as she looked at the lady.

"I think he just doesn't want to see his favorite grandmother hurt. What is his name?"

"Miroku." The old lady answered her eyes twinkling when Kagome's face lit up in recognition. "Ay, you know him do ye?"

"Yes I do. He is my friend at university and his girlfriend is my best friend." The old woman smiled and looked at Kagome with kinder eyes.

"I told that boy last spring when he told me what he did that it was stupid. I'm glad he came around to his senses." Before Kagome could reply, an airhostess arrived and asked them about dinner. Distracted, Kaede and Kagome discontinued their conversation only to bring it up again right before they departed.

"I hope to meet you again Kagome. Perhaps I'll convince Miroku to come visit me soon with Sango and yourself accompanying him as guests."

"I hope to see you soon too Kaede-san." Kagome answered back. "Goodbye!" That said, Kagome looked out at the crowd searching for her best friend who was supposed to be there waiting for her. Sure enough, Sango was there waiting for her with a smile. She gave Kagome a hug and promised to fill her in on the way as they walked to the car. Kagome could only nod and listen to everything she had to say silently praying that her sister was all right even if she was extremely angry for the stunt that she had pulled.

When Kagome walked into her house she was met with a rather sad scene. Her brother and his new fiancé sat on the couch- she trying to comfort him with her touch. Her mother was resting on the sofa- she had gone into a bit of shock upon hearing of Kikyo's disappearance. She was fine now but the doctor had prescribed bed rest and had warned her to stray from any strenuous activity. This effectively meant that Kagome was going to help hold her family together during this time. She was suddenly grateful that Sesshomaru had been there for her when she had first heard the news. It felt nice to depend on someone and let down her strong façade for a moment. Taking a seat next to her mother who had gingerly helped herself up, she threw her arms around her.

"I know you warned me Kagome and I was careful! She was coming home from school! Her friends said she left the café they were eating at but she never came home!" Mrs. Higurashi let loose a few tears as she held on to her eldest daughter. She didn't want to let Kagome go, afraid that she too would disappear.

"Don't worry mama, you know the police will find her." She stated easing herself out of her mother's grasp. "Now you take it easy all right? I'll go shower and make us lunch."

When Kagome walked back downstairs she felt much more confident and at ease about what to do. The hot water had helped ease her tired muscles as well giving her a chance to truly freshen up. Her mother was in the kitchen chopping vegetables of some sort and Kagome had to smile at that. Cooking had always been her mother's way of calming herself down and her way of telling her family that she was slowly getting out of whatever funk she was in. She wasn't going to deprive her mother of this but she did want to help her since her mother did still need a bit of bedrest.

"What are you making today?" Kagome asked as she walked in. Her mother looked up from the mushrooms she was chopping and answered her daughter. She was sitting at the island, on a barstool, with the rest of the vegetables spread around her- carrots, potato, squash, and daikon.

"Well, there's a lot more vegetables and some meat that needs to be chopped up to make my special oden." Kagome had to smile at that- her mother's special oden was one of a few dishes that had been passed in her family for generations. It was a regular oden- a miso and dashi based broth- but it had lots of ingredients not traditionally found in the oden on the street. Her mother generally made something that Kagome simply called Tempura Balls- she rolled in carrots, potatoes, and squash into a dough that she nearly always had ready and fried them quickly in oil before adding them to the soup. Kagome always thought that it was these special ingredients that made the dish so good.

A shuffle to the side caught Kagome's attention and she smiled at Hitomi as she walked into the kitchen. Souta's fiancé had long been a member of the family. She and Souta had begun dating in high school and now seven years later, they were still together and engaged. She noticed what was being made and quickly pulled out a pot and filled it with water before putting it on the stove. As soon as Mrs. Higurashi had learned of her engagement a month ago, she had begun teaching the young woman the family recipe.

"How was London Kagome?" Hitomi asked as she waited for the water to boil.

"Lovely, though I'm sure you saw it all anyway." Kagome was referring to the hundreds of Facebook photos that she had put up.

"I did, but I'm asking about stuff outside of the pictures."

"Well, let's see- my roommate was lovely, I got to visit so many beautiful English manor homes and I –" Here she paused not sure how to broach the subject of Sesshomaru. Her family had only ever heard her complain about him and beyond Rin, Reena, and any one present during the Easter break no one knew about her and Sesshomaru. She wondered if she should broach the subject now, because he did pose a potential link and help in this case.

"And what Kagome?" Mrs. Higurashi prompted seeing the worry on her daughter's face. She was a mother at all times, and even if she was scared to death thinking of Kikyo she still worried that something bad had happened to Kagome in London.

"I'm going out with Sesshomaru Wentworth." She finally stated focusing her attention back on the squash. Mrs. Higurashi let out a tiny gasp and gently prodded her daughter for details.

"Would you like to share things with us dear?" Hearing no anger or disappointment in her mother's words- just genuine curiosity, Kagome nodded and waited for the other two women to get comfortable before she began.

A few minutes later, her tale was done and she looked at the expectant faces of both women. Hitomi was practically melting from the romance in the story while Mrs. Higurashi smiled glad that her daughter was happy. Nonetheless, the elderly matron had to check.

"He does make you happy doesn't you?" She asked slowly. Kagome looked at her mother and was reminded of the moment in the Wentworth kitchen when Sesshomaru's grandmother had asked her a question along the same lines.

"We love each other mama." She assured her with a smile. "Now, shouldn't we be working on the oden?"

Three hours later, Kagome yawned and looked at the bed that currently seemed really appealing. She turned back to the computer and smiled as a new message from Sesshomaru popped up. He had called her an hour ago asking her if she was available to talk- even if it was via Facebook. Laughing, she had agreed and was now chatting with her boyfriend. The smile on her face quickly disappeared and she eagerly typed back as her eyes darkened in anger. Why was Sesshomaru planning on going to Osaka? What was he hiding from her now? She nearly screamed in frustration as she saw the new message that popped up. A knock on the door caused her to look up and watch as her mother walked in. She noticed Kagome's expression and gave her a gentle smile before taking a seat across from her on the bed.

"You look busy, did I come at a wrong time?" Her mother began. Kagome laughed her off. If her mother had really thought she was busy she would have left her room long ago and not walked in like she did now.

"No, I was just talking with Sesshomaru. Let me tell him goodbye real quick k?"

"You don't have to Kagome!" Mrs. Higurashi sighed out watching her daughter turn around to her computer faster than she ever could. She instead smiled glad to see the smile on Kagome's face. There was something there; something in the way her eyes twinkled that she hadn't seen in a while. When Kagome turned around, she silently patted the spot on the bed next to her and her daughter took it without hesitation.

"I just got off the phone with the police." She stated when Kagome sat down. Her daughter's eyes were wide and she waited eagerly to hear what her mother said. "CCTV showed both Kikyo and Inuyasha boarding a train. Unfortunately, they couldn't see what train it was and what time it left. As soon as they know, they'll tell us. But we know that they are together."

Kagome bit her lip as she remembered the message Sesshomaru had sent her about his upcoming trip to Osaka- did he know something that she didn't? And should she tell her mother about it? What if Inuyasha was in Osaka with Kikyo? Looking at her mother's face, she decided not to tell her. Her mother was worried but she looked so hopeful upon hearing that her sister was at least seen somewhere. She couldn't lift that hope up only to have it struck down. No, she just couldn't. So instead, she took her mother's hands in hers and gave them a squeeze.

"She'll be found mother. It'll be all right. Now why don't you go to sleep?" Her mother smiled kindly and gently kissed her brow lingering for a moment before standing up.

"Good night Kagome."

"Good night mother."

Two days later, Kagome found out where Kikyo was and what condition she was in. She found that she didn't have to tell her mother about Sesshomaru's trip- her mother had been informed the day before that both Kikyo and Inuyasha had set foot in Osaka and were likely there. Sesshomaru had arrived there yesterday and sent her a quick message telling her he had landed. She had tried to contact him after that, but he never responded. For the rest of the day Kagome was worried- where was he and what was he doing? The next day, he called her at noon telling her he had found Kikyo.

"Where is she?" Kagome demanded turning the eyes of every face in the room. "Sesshomaru, I swear to god if you don't answer right now-"

"Look Kagome, you don't want to know." She heard Sesshomaru sigh. That only served to anger her more and her frustration leaked out.

"Sesshomaru, where the hell is Kikyo." It was her sister for god's sake- the little girl she'd sworn she was going to take care of when her grandfather died. His reluctance wasn't helping anything at the moment anyway. Kagome knew Kikyo might not be in the best situation but frankly she didn't care where she was as long as she was found. It would break her heart to see her sister hurt but it would kill something in her if her sister was not alive. And she knew that Kikyo was alive so she wanted to know her sister was safe and sound somehow. She heard a soft breath on the other end, almost as if Sesshomaru was letting out some of his frustration before he spoke. She heard a shuffle on the other end before he sighed and told her the answer she wanted.

"Tobita shinchi- that's where I found her."

Kagome paled when she heard that. She mentally did the math in her head and tried to think of how many days her sister might have been in the largest red-light district in this area of Japan- five days. Fearing the worst, Kagome sank into a nearby seat and asked her next question. Kikyo may have been a little more wild compared to Kagome but the girl wouldn't have survived a real night in the red light district. Kagome distinctly prayed that that wasn't the case; she couldn't bear with knowing that her sister was scarred emotionally, physically, and mentally.

"How is she?" Another shuffle was heard but this one was shorter and Kagome guessed that this question was easier to answer for Sesshomaru. She could just imagine his face- eyes blazing with anger but turning gentle when they viewed Kikyo.

"Shaken up and scared- she recognized who I was because Inuyasha came with me to find her." There was a sound and then he spoke in a lower voice. It was calming to Kagome and she appreciated the soft timbre; it was his way of reassuring her and she was grateful for it. "Look Kagome, I'm going to give the phone to Kikyo- we're taking the next train back in an hour."

By this point, Mrs. Higurashi, understanding that her youngest daughter had been found edged closer to Kagome collapsing next to her on the sofa. Kagome smiled gently at her as her sister came on the line. A sob was heard before a scared voice silently called her name. Hearing her sister sound so vulnerable made tears come from Kagome's eyes but she blinked them back. Crying in front of her mother wouldn't help the situation any. As it was she was probably going to have to go somewhere quiet and collect herself before she came to see her sister and demanded answers out of Sesshomaru.

"Kikyo- are you okay?" She asked with her voice having a rougher edge than she would have liked. It gave away how she was feeling and she didn't like that.

"Oh god Kagome, I- I owe Sesshomaru so much! So much!" Knowing that she wasn't going to get much out of Kikyo, Kagome eyed her mother who was practically shaking with shock and handed her the phone.

"Kikyo?" Her mother asked slowly only to burst into tears when she heard her daughter's voice on the phone for the first time in five days. "Oh darling! I'm so glad you're all right!" Unable to hear the teary reunion, Kagome slipped out of the room. Hitomi followed her with sad eyes and Souta made to follow but she held him back. She shook her head slowly telling him that Kagome needed time to herself for a bit. Reluctantly, the older brother did as told and sighed as he took Hitomi's hands in his. Kikyo was safe and that was all that mattered.

Four hours later a tired Kagome stood with her brother on the platform of the train station. It had been decided that Hitomi would stay behind with her mother while Kagome and Souta would go in his car to pick up Sesshomaru and Kagome. Kagome had no idea what Sesshomaru meant when he said that Inuyasha had helped him find Kikyo. When he had first told her she had been too shocked by the news of him finding Kikyo that she hadn't paid any attention to it. Now though, she had to know. It was obvious that Sesshomaru knew to find Inuyasha in Osaka- how did he know that? So many questions were going through her head and she wanted answers. She also wanted to know where Inuyasha was but she figured that those questions could wait for now. The announcement telling of the arrival of the Osaka train soon sounded and both Kagome and Souta stood ready. They didn't know what to do or feel but they both knew that it was going to be a sombre welcome for everyone. The train pulled in a few minutes later and came to a stop down Kagome's right.

Kagome quickly scanned the doors to her right, knowing Souta would look at the ones to her left and waited to spot Sesshomaru's hair. She saw him a door down from where she was and catching her brother's attention began walking that way. Sesshomaru noticed her as well and gently shielded Kikyo, who looked scared, as he edged his way towards them. Realizing what was happening Kagome walked forward and threw an arm around her sister reassuring her before leading her to the car. It freed up Sesshomaru who she noticed had a large suitcase he was wheeling behind him. Kagome realized quickly that it was probably the suitcase he had brought with him from London. They soon approached the car which Souta had unlocked. She edged into the backseat with Kikyo as Sesshomaru took the passenger seat. All of the other people present noticed Kikyo mellow out when she encountered the less crowded car. It made the two older siblings shudder at what their younger sister had to go through while Sesshomaru silently festered in guilt and anger form having been unable to prevent Kikyo from being tricked and manipulated by Inuyasha so easily.

No words were exchanged as the four made their way to the shrine. Kagome glanced up when Kikyo had eased enough and laid her head on her shoulder not saying a word and seemingly lost in her own mind. Sesshomaru looked up and his glance met hers. There was a measure of relief and gratitude in Kagome's eyes and he was happy to see it there. Giving her a gentle nod, he averted his gaze back to the window leaving her to stroke her sister's hair gently as she pondered on what to do when she got home.

When they arrived at the shrine, her mother was waiting for them outside unable to contain her excitement at seeing her youngest daughter. She waited patiently and when her daughters reached her immediately pulled the younger one into a tight embrace. Tears were flowing down both the Higurashi women's faces as Souta led them inside. He assumed Hitomi was inside helping get things ready for both their visitors and decided to talk to her later. Shooting a look at Kagome and Sesshomaru he noticed that the man hadn't brought up his suitcase- he wasn't thinking of staying in a hotel was he? Kagome smiled at her brother and shooed him away. Getting the hint, Souta left to go inside and it was only then that Kagome dared to approach Sesshomaru.

"I missed you. And I can't thank you enough for what you did." She mumbled out throwing herself into him. His arms tightened around hers holding her as though she would disappear soon.

"I missed you too Kagome." Noting that he still hadn't said anything about how he had found Kikyo Kagome pulled away to ask him when she noticed how tired he looked.

"Sesshomaru," she asked in a sudden moment of clarity, "have you slept since you landed here?" At the quick aversion of his eyes, Kagome gasped and without thinking she grabbed his hand and started leading him inside the house. At his resistance, she turned questioning eyes to him and he eyed her house warily.

"What, did you think my mother would turn away the man who brought her daughter back to her? Get yourself together Sesshomaru!" This time, knowing that Kagome's stubbornness wasn't one to be tested Sesshomaru followed her. And, he was tired- climbing into a clean bed after taking a hot shower sounded wonderful.

"My clothes," he stated as she took off his shoes in the genkan, "I need to get them." Kagome would have none of it however. She tugged him up the stairs and to an empty bathroom.

"Just go take your shower and use whatever's in there. It's all my stuff anyway so I don't care. I'll bring your suitcase up." Noting his hesitation again, Kagome pushed him into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Seeing as he was left to his own means Sesshomaru locked the door and stripped down, tossing his clothes into the hamper that he recognized held Kagome's clothes before turning on the hot shower.

As he washed away all the dirt and grime from the last two days, Sesshomaru felt so much more at ease. There was something wonderful about cleansing himself of the gunk he had picked up from the past few days. His hair when washed let out some dirty brown water and he cringed not wanting to know how much dirt that actually was. After spending a good twenty minutes, longer than he usually did, Sesshomaru turned the shower off and reached for the towels lining the wall. He couldn't help but laugh at the one he grabbed to dry off. It was a pink towel that he had noticed in Kagome's dorm room once. The towel was large and fluffy resembling a near-robe on her. On him however, the towel would look comical making it seem as if he was wearing a pink skirt. Shaking his hair and toweling it off with a smaller towel Sesshomaru stepped out of the bathroom not sure where to go.

"Oh!" Turning to the voice Sesshomaru flushed being caught in only a towel by the elderly Higurashi matron. It was embarrassing he had to admit to be seen like this in front of your girlfriend's mother.

"Kagome brought up your suitcase earlier. She put it in her room." Mrs. Higurashi pointed out a room to her right. "That's her room. Just come down for some food when you're ready." Not wanting to prolong the poor boy's embarrassment further she left to go downstairs and heat up some of the lunch from earlier shaking her head. He reminded her of Souta; the poor boy was still so embarrassed whenever she saw him shirtless no matter how many times she told him that he had run out of the bathroom stark naked when he was little.

Sesshomaru quickly slipped into the room Mrs. Higurashi indicated and quickly donned some new clothes. He had a feeling Mrs. Higurashi was laughing at him and he vowed to get Kagome back for this. Or maybe this was her way of getting back at him for that morning in England, he mused. Nonetheless, after making sure his hair was sufficiently dry he hung up the towel in the bathroom and followed the smell of food to the kitchen. Kagome was there along with another young woman and her mother. Souta was sitting in the living room on the phone- with the police it sounded like. Kagome turned and upon seeing him took his hand and led him to the dining table nearby.

"Sit! Tell me what do you want to eat?" At Sesshomaru's confused glance, Kagome flushed and pointed to the kitchen. "Er mother made soba earlier today and miso. She also made curry and-"

"Soba and miso are good for now Kagome." Sesshomaru interrupted. Seeing her confused glance, he sighed. "I just want to sleep- I don't want a heavy meal." Understanding, Kagome quickly moved from his side and quickly set to work serving him. For Mrs. Higurashi and Hitomi who had only ever seen her act this way around her grandfather the sight was comical. The way Kagome was fussing over Sesshomaru was just too cute. Nonetheless, Mrs. Higurashi let her daughter do what she wanted.

"Do you want to check on Kikyo?" Hitomi asked softly as Kagome sat down next to Sesshomaru gently serving him with whatever he needed as he ate. Mrs. Higurashi turned from the stove, and nodded. She let Hitomi warm the curry while she went to check on her daughter upstairs. When she came down fifteen minutes later, Sesshomaru was just finishing up his meal and Kikyo took a seat near him waiting for her own meal.

"Sesshomaru." Mrs. Higurashi said taking Kagome's seat and silently commanding her to serve her sister. "If you don't mind me asking how did you find my daughter?" Sesshomaru sighed as he put his chopsticks down knowing that he was going to have to answer sooner or later. Souta came in from the living room and took a seat at the island as Kagome and Hitomi continued to busy themselves- Hitomi washing his now finished dishes and Kagome prepping a plate for her sister.

"Inuyasha is my half-brother, he is the son of my father's mistress." Taking a deep breath he continued wanting to get this all out at once. "When my father died in high school, Inuyasha got my sister addicted to drugs and nearly got her to sell off a priceless heirloom of our father's. I managed to take Rin away and sent her to stay with my grandparents. I also rewrote my father's will and effectively cut out Inuyasha from my father's will until he could prove he was going to be more responsible. At this time, he fled to Osaka where his mother was from and where his old girlfriend was." The word girlfriend was spat out almost as though he hated to say it and Kagome realized that this was the girlfriend that sold Inuyasha the drugs.

"This girlfriend dealt in drugs- opium and herion- and that was where Inuyasha took refuge. I _have_ been keeping tabs on him and found out that he has a large debt he owes to her. If I had known that he was planning on using Kikyo to pay it back I would have-" Here he stopped curling his hands into fists. Within moments, Kagome was by his side and had her hand around his. He looked at her silently glad that she was here and gave her a soft smile.

"Luckily by the time I arrived, Kikyo wasn't compromised." He didn't say anything more and when it looked like Kikyo wanted to say something Sesshomaru glanced at her and she stopped. Everyone noticed this exchange and decided to ask Kikyo about it later. An odd silence descended upon the room broken only when Mrs. Higurashi stood and gently embraced Sesshomaru in a hug.

"Thank you for bringing me my daughter back." The statement seemed to calm the tension in the room. Hitomi took the plate and bowl Kagome had readied and placed them in front of Kikyo while Souta eyed the movements in the kitchen wearily wondering how he had been born into a family with such strong females. Kagome meanwhile took Sesshomaru upstairs and once she was sure he would be comfortable enough, she crept downstairs.

When she came downstairs, her brother was talking to Kikyo and the young girl, though having come from a traumatic experience, was angry with her eyes blazing. Curious Kagome edged into the kitchen intent on hearing what was going on. Hitomi was biting her lip in nervousness while Mrs. Higurashi looked lost.

"Tell me Kikyo, Sesshomaru was hiding something- did he hurt you?" Kikyo unable to finally take Souta's questions couldn't take it anymore.

"Fuck off Souta!" She yelled indignant to her mother's shock at her word choice. "Do you want to know what he did? Then I'll tell you! He paid off Inuyasha's debt- an entire damn $10,000- that's right dollars not yen and then paid for my freedom-that's another $10,000. Instead of accusing him, you should be thanking him. I don't know how I'll ever repay him." Kikyo collapsed into tears and Kagome shot her brother a nasty look before throwing her arms around her sister.

"Kikyo-" Souta began feeling terribly guilty- he'd only meant to want to care for his sister.

"That's enough Souta." Kagome began with a growl. "I think you've done enough damage here." Feeling utterly chastised now, Souta guiltily fled the kitchen. Hitomi knowing he needed to talk to someone silently followed him while Mrs. Higurashi slowly approached her daughters.

"There Kikyo, darling, it's all right for now. Why don't you try to sleep? But first, let's make sure you eat?" Gently, she took the soup spoon and began to feed her daughter. Kikyo surrendered to her mother's actions wondering why she had ever decided to leave this lovely home. Sniffling back her tears, she allowed herself to bask in the love that her family provided.

Later that day, in the evening, Sesshomaru woke and took a moment to reorient himself. He wasn't used to waking up in a room that was painted green and a bed that was just a tad too small for his tall frame. Nonetheless, he was grateful to catch up on a day's worth of sleep. Leaving the bed, he found the bathroom he'd used earlier that day and quickly freshened up before taking the stairs down. He felt awkward and thought that he had perhaps overstayed his welcome in the Higurashi household especially around Souta who for some reason eyed him warily. When he came downstairs, Souta was sitting in the living room by himself and Sesshomaru walked towards him slowly unsure what to say or do.

"Hey." Souta greeted sparing Sesshomaru the trouble. "Uh, did you need anything?"

"If possible could I please get a glass of water?" Souta nodded and handed him a glass from the kitchen with a small smile. After Sesshomaru had taken it, Souta decided to apologize and maybe just maybe ask Sesshomaru how the Higurashi family would ever pay him back.

"I'm sorry if I wasn't exactly the nicest person earlier. I just- it sucks to know I wasn't able to do anything for my little sister you know? She told us what you did Sesshomaru. How can we ever pay you back?" The glass in Sesshomaru's hands nearly cracked from the sudden pressure that the holder put on it. He had purposefully begged Kikyo to never tell. He didn't want the Higurashi household to be indebted to him; rather he just wanted to be accepted by a family that he respected: Kagome's family. Souta could tell he had struck a cord and hastily tried to fix the situation, though he didn't know what to do.

"Is everything okay?" The Higurashi brother asked leaning against the counter and fiddling with his fingers.

"Yes." Sesshomaru finally answered realizing his silence had worried the other male. "You don't have to pay me back." At Souta's outburst, Sesshomaru held up a hand and continued. "I did it all for Kagome- for your family. Your gratitude is the only gift I want to see." Souta's eyes softened as he looked at the other male and sighed before nodding and holding out his hand.

"All right then. Just- just let me know if there's anything I can do for you okay?" Sesshomaru nodded with a smile and Souta gave one back easing the tension that had been present between the two men.

When the Higurashi women came back into the house, there was a calmness in the air. Kikyo had come down and was watching the television with her brother, the two were snuggled together on the couch and it was touching to see the picture they made. Adjacent to them in the armchair, Sesshomaru was working on his laptop; most likely on work related matters. Kikyo looked up when the front door opened, a little startled but Souta's soothing hand on her head helped calm her. Kagome walked in first dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top. Sesshomaru raised an eye at the ensemble but didn't say anything as she collapsed onto his lap. He was lucky he'd moved the laptop before it met a premature death.

"I'm so tired- I forgot how large the shrine courtyard is." Sesshomaru didn't say anything instead using that time to nuzzle Kagome's neck. So that was what she had been doing when he woke up.

"Go take a shower. I'll make you tea." He whispered softly giving her a quick kiss and ushering her to stand. His actions did not go unnoticed by the room's other two occupants. Kikyo smiled softly, happy that her sister found the happiness she deserved while Souta was caught between being happy for Kagome and feeling overprotective towards Sesshomaru. They didn't say anything as Kagome fled upstairs and instead continued to watch the show as the door opened again and Mrs. Higurashi and Hitomi came in, arms laden with grocery bags. Souta stood and helped them with the bags while Mrs. Higurashi followed him to make sure he put things in the right place.

"Oh Sesshomaru! You could have asked me to make you tea." Mrs. Higurashi fussed as she walked up to the tall male by the stove. Sesshomaru was touched by her concern but shook it off.

"It's fine; besides this is for Kagome." The elder matron's eyes softened and she nodded instructing the other two in the kitchen on what to do. With the household bustling again Sesshomaru felt at home when a freshly showered Kagome came down and put her arms around him. It felt nice and it felt right.

A frantic Kagome ran around trying to remember where she had placed her speech. Oh, she was going to die if she didn't find it. Sesshomaru walked into the living room and raised a gentle eyebrow as he took in her appearance. Even after nearly three and a half years together, Kagome still surprised him. He found he liked it that way; it was refreshing to know that the girl he was in love with would always be there to challenge him to do better. Nonetheless, her bending was ruining the dress she was wearing and he knew that while she didn't care now, she would be extremely sad about it later so he gently walked up behind her and snuck an arm around her waist. Kagome straightened from her awkward bend over the sofa and smiled at him before she squirmed out of his hold.

"Can you help me find the speech?" Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow before he pointed to the kitchen where a stapled speech was stuck with a magnet to the refrigerator. He didn't understand her reasoning but he had decided not to question it. Three years together did not lessen their arguments and he did not want to get into another one today. It was after all a wedding day.

"Oh that's right! Do you mind grabbing it for me while I put my heels on?" Kagome didn't wait for an answer as she kissed his cheek quickly and disappeared towards the genkan to slip on her shoes. Shaking his head Sesshomaru grabbed the speech off the fridge before walking towards where Kagome was waiting.

It was August 5th- Sango and Miroku's wedding day. The two had waited utill Sango had her masters before getting married. As expected, Kagome was the maid of honor and Sesshomaru the best man so it was no surprise that the two were supposed to give speeches. Patting his vest pocket Sesshomaru relaxed as he felt the familiar weight of his speech resting there. Kagome turned to look at him after she had finished strapping her heels on and smiled. Sesshomaru toed his own on before grabbing her around the waist and looking pointedly down at her hands.

"Who do you think will notice first?" He asked softly picking up her left hand and tracing the ring there. He'd given it to her last night right as they were going to bed and she had accepted tears flowing down her face. Her eyes weren't as puffy as she'd feared but her entire being glowed with a joy that he was glad to have given her.

"Ayame." Kagome answered softly. It had been a year and half since Ayame had called it off with Hojo. Hojo hadn't given her space; instead he'd kept pressuring her to have kids and give up her career so as a result, Ayame had left him because she wasn't ready for a relationship like that yet. After the divorce, she'd stayed in London and Rin had become good friends with her. It was during this time that Ayame and Kouga began to get close. All the signs had been pointing in their direction for a while and Kouga had finally asked her out on a beautiful Valentine's date that led them to the relationship they were currently in.

"Hn." Kagome had to laugh at Sesshomaru's exaggerated sarcasm. If there was one person that still was able to get under his skin it was Kouga.

"Oh relax, you know it'll be fine. Besides, he's been pining over Ayame for nearly two years now and it took him this long to act. You can hold that over him." Sesshomaru shook his head before he led her out the door and toward the wedding venue. It was early- only six- but Kagome had promised to help the bride get ready and he had to ensure that Miroku didn't get a sudden case of cold feet. They were going to be a few minutes late as is, he didn't want to increase their tardy entrance.

The Meiji shrine where the couple had decided to get married was teeming with family when they got there. The Kanzawa family was running around with last minute decorations while the Tanaka's were busy telling the caterers where to put their stuff in the reception hall since Sango had opted to hold a western style ceremony in the historic shrine. Kagome snuck into the house while Sesshomaru greeted his friend's parents and found Kikyo and Ayame trying to calm a pacing Sango in an old corner room. She smiled opening her arms to her friend and Sango ran into them eagerly.

"I can't help but be scared Kagome- am I doing the right thing?" Kagome gently pulled away from her friend trying hard to not mess up the hairdo that her friend currently wore.

"Miroku loves you and respects you- he's willing to spend the rest of his life with you. Now, why don't you stop that crying and look at me. You love this man and you want to have his babies don't you?" She waited for her friend's nod before continuing. "Then why are you moping around here and not getting ready for your big day?" Sango laughed glad that Kagome was helping ease her fears.

"Because I needed a friend to knock some sense into me." With a shake of the head Kagome helped her friend get ready taking her to the dressing station and helping her with her dress.

Soon, it was nine and most of the guests had already started filling into their seats. Kikyo had left to help her mother with ushering duties leaving Mrs. Tanaka, Ayame, and Kagome alone with Sango. Kagome moved to push some of her wayward hair behind her ear when her hand was suddenly caught in Ayame's. Just as she'd told Sesshomaru that morning Ayame had been the first to notice.

"When?" Ayame asked softly feeling happy for her friend.

"Last night before we went to bed. I climbed in and he was waiting there grinning like a little kid when he noticed I saw the box on my pillow." Kagome flushed recalling the memory. It wasn't the most romantic of proposals but considering their relationship she doubted she wanted anything more than that. Kagome was frustrated and scared about her friend's wedding and Sesshomaru had all but eased her tension when he proposed. She grinned goofily as the bride came forward and embraced her in a hug.

"Oh Kagome, I'm so happy for you two!" Sango pulled away as Mrs. Tanaka embraced her goddaughter. "Does anyone else know?" Kagome shook her head but then paused recalling something that Sesshomaru had told her last night.

"Well, Rin and Souta helped him pick out the ring so I think that they both knew he was going to propose soon; I don't think they know he's done it already." The girls gushed, fawning over the ring and the proposal before Mrs. Tanaka straightened up as she glanced at the clock.

"Sango dear, I think it's time for me to take my seat." Standing up, she walked to the bride and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. "Your father and I are so proud and happy of both our daughters. Make Miroku the happiest groom on earth okay?" Sango hastily blinked away tears along with the other two girls before nodding. A knock sounded and Kikyo stuck her head in with a smile since she was third bridesmaid. It was her way of telling the room that her ushering duties were over and that the wedding would start soon.

"It's time for places Mrs. Tanaka." Nodding, the mother of the bride wiped her eyes quickly before walking out the door and to the shrine grounds. Only a short while later Kagome found herself walking down the aisle towards Sesshomaru, Kouga, and Sango's younger cousin Kohaku. Once in their positions she gave a small smile to Sesshomaru which he returned. Hearing a gasp from Miroku Kagome turned and saw her friend walking down the aisle on the arm of her father.

Sango looked ethereal, more beautiful even since she'd left the room just a few minutes ago. Her friend was glowing with happiness and the love she had in her eyes made the wedding seem fairy-tale like. Kagome watched it all trying to hold back her tears. Miroku looked so happy to be there with Sango and it made her giddy just wondering if that was what Sesshomaru would like on their wedding day. The couple exchanged their vows, their rings, and a chaste but loving kiss before Miroku led his wife back down the aisle. Kagome only snapped out of it when Sesshomaru handed her his arm to follow the couple. She was embarrassed hoping that no one had caught her spacing out. As they walked back down the aisle, Sesshomaru leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"If you want, I'll cover for you and you can go fix your make-up in the bathroom." Kagome shook her head looking up at her fiancé as they arrived at the reception room grateful for his ever perceptive attention.

"I'll be fine, just expect me to get teary periodically throughout the day okay?" Nodding Sesshomaru brushed away the one loose tear threatening to fall and kissed her softly.

"Remember Kagome- happy tears." He murmured pulling away and leading her to their table. She shook her head before pulling herself together. If Sango saw her tears, she would start crying and that was a mess that Kagome didn't want to get into. So instead, she mentally prepared herself for the speech she was going to give as she took her seat and the other guests began piling in.

A few hours later Kagome laid her head on her fiancé's shoulder as the two of them looked out on the dance floor. Kagura and Yura were dancing with their husbands next to the newlyweds. Rin was at a nearby table flirting with Kohaku. Seeing this, Kagome nudged Sesshomaru indicating to him the scene.

"What is he doing?" Sesshomaru asked with an angry huff.

"Oh hush, let her flirt with him. Kohaku's a really sweet guy. Did I mention he got a Rhodes scholarship? He's going to study international economics at Oxford in the fall." Sesshomaru merely grunted and Kagome had to giggle at that. She supposed that no matter how old he was, he was always going to care for his sister fondly and with a little bit of an overprotective attitude.

"Come on." She stated hoping to distract him. "Let's go tell your grandparents about us." Sesshomaru's eyes sought hers and he smiled before standing and leading the way. After the lunch and customary dancing, Kagome and Sesshomaru had opted for a little bit of recluse. They hadn't had time to reflect on the new found aspect of their relationship and they wanted to spend some time with each other before they had to eventually tell their family. Taking her hand, Sesshomaru let himself give it a little squeeze as they wound around the tables to the one where his grandparents were. They were sitting with Kaede who smiled warmly at the couple as they walked up.

"How are you two?" Lady Wentworth asked. She'd seen them in passing about an hour ago when Kagome had persuaded the two of them to dance.

"Wonderful." Sesshomaru answered kissing his grandmother on the cheek. "Kagome and I have something to tell you." The Earl's eyes twinkled and Kagome let out a frustrated sigh as she realized that the surprise was somehow already out.

"Who told you?" She asked allowing the elder women to look at her ring. The Earl laughed as he replied.

"Well, he did have to ask me to add to the family tree a while back." Sesshomaru flushed and Kagome raised a curious eyebrow at her fiancé.

"So you knew all along that I was going to accept?" She asked skeptically. "What if I had said no?" Sesshomaru's eyes flashed in apprehension for a moment before he replied.

"That's why the lines were only added in pencil." Kagome shook her head leaning over to give him a quick kiss.

"You're lucky I love you so much Sesshomaru." The three elders laughed at this and could only smile as they saw Sesshomaru pick the girl up and twirl her catching the attention of quite a few people in the room. He set her down but not before drawing her into a deep kiss as his grandparents looked on approval shining in their eyes. It had taken the two a while but they were nonetheless happy for their grandson and immensely glad that the young woman in front of them had been the one to get him out of his shell.

"Sesshomaru! Kagome!" The couple pulled away to see the bride and groom headed their way. The newlyweds smirked and Kagome just knew that something embarrassing was going to happen soon especially as a microphone somehow found its way near Miroku.

"Ladies and gentleman," Miroku began addressing the audience, "Both Sango and I know that this is our wedding but we'd like to extend a warm congratulations to the two people without whom we wouldn't really be who we are today. Sesshomaru- my brother in arms and Kagome- his new fiancé. Join me as we congratulate the two that took forever to get here but are finally going to get married."

Sesshomaru scowled- he'd never liked a lot of attention directed at his personal life- and Kagome blushed hotly while glaring daggers at her friend. Nonetheless, they felt happy and excited as they heard the toasts being made to their future and congratulating them. When Sesshomaru gingerly lifted her chin and kissed her, he whispered three simple words that made the embarrassment a little more bearable.

"_I love you._"

"I know, and I love you too." Kagome answered threading her arms around his neck and kissing him ignorant to the cheers surrounding them. It had taken them a while but they had finally managed to break through her preconception and his conceit to get to where they were now. And she was very glad that they did as he pulled away and looked at her fondly making her feel like the luckiest woman in the world. Yes, everything was going to be perfectly fine if not a little argumentative in their future.

**A/N: **And there you have it folks- the ending of _Conceit and Preconception_. Before I finish I would like to say that I do not own the following: _Inuyasha, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Leeds Castle, Wuthering Heights, Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, Great Expectations, Madame Bovary, Nicolas Nickelby, Cricket on the Hearth, Barclays, Jack Whilshire, Darjeeling Tea, the Meiji Shrine, _and_ British Airways. _Also, whatever else I forgot (because I'm sure I forgt something!)

P.S. Jack Wilshire just so happens to be a football (soccer) player- I did not mean to use his name- I just liked the name until I realized it was already someone's. At that point I decided I liked my Jack so I left him in.

As for what happened to Inuyasha- take your guess- I personall think he ends up in jail somehow.


End file.
